Beautiful Soul
by jellybean-kitty
Summary: Kai Hiwatari is a pychiatrist with a difference: he only works with the deceased. When one girl turns up in desperate need of his help, it turns his whole world upside down.
1. Paranormal Psychiatrists

Hiya! This is my new fanfic. Pairings are Kai/Hil, Ray/Mariah, Tala/Oc, Max/Mariam just now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Paranormal Pyschiatrists 

Kai Hiwatari observed the women who sat opposite from him at his desk. She had an old fashioned dress on and looked about ninety years old. Her hair was just a grey wisp but he could still see that in her younger years she would have been a head turner. He watched as she picked up his pen and signed her name on the contract that had been put out before her.

"Thank you, Ma'am." He said wearily as she handed him back the sheet of paper.

The young woman, who he assumed was her granddaughter, cleared her throat nervously. "Umm…When will be start the sessions?"

Kai flicked through his schedule. "Is Thurday, eleven okay for you?"

The young women frowned. "But that's two days away."

"It's the only time that's available on such short notice." He flicked back a couple of pages. "Unless…I can fit you in tomorrow, nine thirty, but if you're not there on time then you'll miss your appointment altogether."

"That's fine," the older woman rasped. "It's not like I have anything better to do anyway."

Kai nodded grimly and filled out another form and handed it to the young woman. "Give this to the receptionist and she'll make a note."

"Thank you, doctor." She shook his hand heartily.

He watched as the old women walked through the closed door. The young women looked around in confusion then back at Kai.

"She's already through."

She nodded and left quickly, trying to find her grandmother and take her home.

There was another knock on the door and a red headed man entered carrying a case file and slammed it on Kai's desk.

"Take a look at this one," Tala Ivanov said.

Kai leafed through it and nodded impressively. "When did you get this?"

"Just about two minutes ago. It was his wife that gave me it. Apparently he's been asking for help ever since he died." He held up a check. "And I'd say she's more than happy to oblige with this twenty grand check."

Kai smirked. "She must have pretty penny."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she killed him."

Kai looked at him in alarm.

"Relax. It was just a heart attack that finished him off. Although how he can have unfinished business with a heart attack is beyond me…" He said while leaving the room.

The crimson eyed boy raked a hand through his two-toned hair and looked at the clock. It was time for a break. He left his office and passed the reception, greeting the receptionist Garnet Granger. She was a pretty girl, nineteen-his own age- with the blackest hair he'd ever seen. She was always immaculately presented with her nails clean and manicured and her make up flawless. Today, she wore a medium length black skirt which hung onto her curves beautifully and a pink and white striped short mid sleeved shirt. He was more than happy for her to represent the firm.

The phone rang and she answered it. "Paranormal Psychiatrists. Your unfinished business is our business. Uhuh. I'll just transfer you." She hung up and smiled brightly as he walked past. "I'll be taking a break in a few minutes. Tyson's taking over."

Kai nodded and continued on. Tyson Granger was Garnet's first cousin. He was a great people person and between his friendliness and her looks they made a great team.

At that moment, Tyson appeared with a huge stack of files and plonked them on the reception desk. His blue hair had been ruffled from the effort.

"Tyson!" Garnet complained. "You can't just leave them there!"

"They need to be sorted out!"

Kai shook his head and continued on. They were generally always disagreeing with each other when their clients were gone so this was a usual practice. He passed several other offices and acknowledged greetings from his other employees. It was quite a small firm he ran with a staff consisting of about eight gifted teenagers: their gift being that they could see and communicate with the dead. It was Kai who had initially began Paranormal Psychiatrists with his inheritance from his parent's untimely death. He, along with his cousin Mariah Hiwatari and friends Tala Ivanov and Garnet Granger, had been its founders. Through contacts and advertising, they had gained more employees and recently more clients. The income they all received surprised most people but relatives of the dead were more than happy to shell out a couple of thousand dollars to help them move onto the next life.

Primarily, they solved the problems that were keeping them on the mortal plain- their 'unfinished business'- although these sometimes had some dangerous consequences. It wouldn't be the first time that Kai had found himself face to face with a murderer in his investigations. It certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Hey, Kai," Max Tate greeted him with a wave. "Why do you look so depressed?"

Kai looked at the blonde and noticed he'd combed his blonde hair and his work suit had been pressed more than usual.

"Hn," he replied.

"Miss Mariam's coming today," Mariah teased as she walked past, answering Kai's unasked question. She stuck out her tongue and Max playfully tugged her red, almost pink, hair which she had tied in a ponytail so it swung freely.

Mariah always seemed to know what Kai was thinking, even when he himself wasn't too sure. For cousins, they were really close. He considered her, Garnet and Tala as his family, since real one consists of either rocky relationships or members who had passed away. The latter was most common.

He opened the door to the tea room and entered, discovering that Ray and Kenny had already got there before him. Ray Kon sipped a cup of coffee and nodded to him to which Kai nodded back. Kenny was still busy on his laptop and hadn't even noticed his boss had come in. At least with these two he would get some peace on his break. He grabbed a mug from the overhead cupboards and poured himself some coffee, letting the burning liquid slip down his throat.

"You're more serious than usual," Ray observed.

Ray was a traditional china man who had been employed by Kai shortly after becoming an item with Mariah. He never cuts his ebony hair, not that Kai had seen anyway, and always had it tied back with a silk ribbon wrapped around it. Right now, he was staring at Kai with his amber eyes. They always reminded him of a cat's. He found it strange how he and Mariah seemed to share that quality.

"Hn."

Kenny stopped typing and noticed Kai standing there. He quickly readjusted his glasses on top of his short brown bangs and turned his laptop around to show Kai the screen.

"This is a house, not far from here, which has been reported to have major paranormal activity," He explained. "I got the e-mail this morning. They don't want to get a priest in for an exorcism just yet in case it's a family member."

"I'll send some one out tomorrow."

"I'll go," Ray offered. "I'm free tomorrow afternoon."

"Fine."

Garnet entered the room and flopped down on the couch next to Ray, almost making him spill his coffee.

"I'm beat," she said and grabbed a magazine. "I just had to cope with this guy who said he'd kill himself if we didn't help him right now."

"What did you do?" Asked Ray.

"I said, 'Hunny. You're dead. What good will that do?"

"Nice," Kai said. "So what happened then?"

"He made an appointment."

"Don't mess with Garnet," Ray joked.

"Damn right!" The girl replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

She busied herself in her magazine while Kenny began typing again. Kai sat quietly and finished off his coffee. He stood up and placed it in the sink so he could wash it later and left the room, mumbling a goodbye.

Ray shook his head. "It's getting worse."

"I know," Garnet replied. "He's so…withdrawn." She clasped her hands together. "I know! We should set him up with some one!"

Ray looked at her painfully. "Who exactly could we set him up with? The only people we ever meet are dead."

"We could set him up with a ghost..."

Ray and Kenny looked at each other.

"You are one strange girl, Garnet," said Kenny.

* * *

Kai suppressed a groan of frustration at the man sitting before him. He didn't want to know his life story when he was alive and he certainly didn't want to know it now. 

"I'm sorry sir, but if we want to make any progress at all, we're going to have to stick to the subject," Kai said as pleasantly as possible. "Is there anything you didn't tell your wife before she died that maybe's keeping you here?"

The man looked at Kai and his transparent face turned a shade darker. Ghost blushing.

"Actually, I never told her that I love her," He stammered. "I could never find the words. I always wanted make it special but now…I just want hertoknow thatI love her and always will."

Kai turned to the crying woman next to him. "Mrs. Kyle? Sam says he loves you and he always will. He could never find a way special enough but now, he just wants you to know."

"I-I love you too," The widow said.

Kai watched as Sam smiled and began to shine.

"What's happening now?" Mrs. Kyle asked.

"He's crossing over."

The light shone brighter and brighter until it instantly disappeared, leaving no trace of the man behind.

"It's been successful. He's gone to his resting place."

Mrs. Kyle smiled. "In all the years we were married, he'd never once said that to me. Thank you, Doctor Hiwatari."

"Don't mention it," Kai said, forcing a smile.

He walked the women to the door and closed it firmly behind her. He sighed deeply and turned around to find himself face to face with a girl. A little yell escaped both of their lips. The girl looked terrified to be there and looked at him fearfully.

"My name is Hilary Tatibana and I need you help," She squeaked.

* * *

What do you think? Please review! I want toknow if I should continue. 

jellybean-kitty xx


	2. Hilary Tatibana

Thanks for those you reviewed and I wasn't able to reply to personally:

Jess

Nubia

I didn't expect to get much of a response but seven reviews is the most I've ever had for one chapter so I just had to continue!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Hilary Tatibana 

"Jesus Christ," Kai swore under his breath and tried to calm his rattled nerves. "How in the hell did you get in here?" He walked past her and slumped down into his padded chair and indicated to the chair opposite.

Hilary gladly accepted. "I don't know how I got here, but I just did. I was walking aimlessly and I found myself in your office with you screaming your face off at me." She stared at his accusingly with her ruby coloured eyes.

The helplessness persona Kai had encountered only a few seconds ago had gone and instead, it had been exchanged with a fiery young woman. She cocked her head to the side as she waited for him to say something and her chocolate coloured hair bounced along with it, never loosing it's shape.

"I didn't expect to turn around and see a ghost standing right in front me," Kai reasoned. "And besides-"

"Hold up!" Hilary stood up from her chair. "I am _not _a ghost. Why would you say that?"

Sighing deeply, he said, "How else so you explain getting into my office when the only door was barricaded by my body?"

Hilary was lost for words. "That-it-I can't be a ghost," She held her head in her hands and stared wide eyed at the floor. "I just can't be. This must all be part of the dream." She whispered the last part so Kai couldn't hear it.

"I'm sorry," Kai said, not knowing if anything else would help.

"No!" Hilary stamped her foot hard on the floor, rattling the contents on Kai's desk vigorously. "I won't have it. I'm not a ghost because I'm not dead. You have to have died to be dead. You have to be dead to be a ghost" She put her hands on her hips as if trying to get him to tell her her logic was insane whe, in fact, it did make perfect sense.

Instead, Kai looked at her sympathetically. He'd never come up with a case like her where the person was so adamant that they weren't dead. Of course, accepting you were dead must be a pretty hard thing to do so it was perfectly understandable under the circumstances. However, there was no way for him to help her unless she could accept that she was no longer of the living: only trapped with them. It just wasn't possible. She needed his help but she didn't realise why.

"Look," He said eventually, "I know this is a hard concept to grasp, but you aren't alive anymore."

"Prove it!" She spat.

Looking around his desk for ideas, he spied a telephone. That would work. Ordinary people couldn't hear ghosts voices unless they are bordering on the side of the Gifted. Hopefully Hilary would believe him then. Then he could help her. Then he could finally finish work for the day.

"Miss Tatibana," He pushed the phone towards her. "Why don't you phone one of your relatives." He reached for the phone and stopped before her fingers made contact to hear what else Kai had to say. "But," He warned. "They won't be able to hear you."

Hilary snorted and tried to pick up the receiver only to find that her hands went right through it. She screamed in panic and frantically kept opening and closing her hand, desperately trying to pick up the simple and solid item. Eventually she gave up and slumped down back into her seat, shoulders drooping from her lost battle with the telephone.

"No." She moaned softly, head once again cradled in her hands. "No, no, no, no. I'm still so young." Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she realised the awful truth, wither she wanted to or not.

Kai stared at her and observed her with some thought. Eventually he took out a contract and held it out for her to take from him. She looked at it with tear streaked suspicion and attempted to left it out from under his outstretched hands and failed miserably. All that happened was Kai's hand felt warm in an instant and then returned to normal. Hilary moaned again in defeat.

"That's odd…" Kai muttered.

"What is?" Hilary asked and sniffed.

"One: you should be able to pick things up. Ghosts are experienced spirits and such spirits, by their nature, are able to do most common thing that they were able in life which is make physical contact with solid objects; when desired." He rubbed his hand where Hilary's had gone through it. "Second: Ghosts are cold due to the lack of blood flowing through their veins and the fact that there's no need to produce body heat. For some reason, you're warm." He held his hands above her head. "You're giving off _heat_, not coldness." He wrote a few things down on an open notepad. "Strange…Anyway, I am willing to help you cross over to the next life but in order to do so, I'll need some contact information so I can arrange payment of your fees from your relatives."

"Payment?" She stared at him blankly. "Payment for what?"

"Your treatment," He answered matter-of-factly. "I'm a doctor. Doctor Kai Hiwatari-"

"Can I call you Kai or do I have to call you Doctor?"

"Most people call me Doct-"

"I'll call you Kai." She decided. "Doctor's way too formal."

"Anyway," he said, looking at her, trying to tell her not to interrupt. She did a zip fastening motion across her lips. "I specialise in psychiatry or more to the fact, spectral psychiatry. I work with the deceased," He added when he noticed her confused looks. "What I do is interview the deceased and try to discover the unfinished business that it keeping them on this plain. This is my livelihood and obviously, to make an income, I'll need to charge my clients."

"You've done that speech before, haven't you?" Hilary shifted nervously as he glared at her. "Sorry." She gave him her telephone number. "I'll warn you though. My family don't exactly have a lot of money to be shelling out thousands of pounds."

Kai nodded and dialled the number on his telephone and waited until he was connected. "Hello, I presume this is Mrs. Tatibana?" He asked when a female answered. "My name is Doctor Kai Hiwatari, and I have the spectral form of your daughter, Hilary, in my office here. It appears she needs my help."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" The woman on the other end demanded in a tired and weary voice. "My daughter is not a ghost and probably never will get the chance to be. Good day to you."

Kai stared, dumbstruck, at the phone as he heard the dial tone. He slowly replaced the handset and cleared his throat. "It seems getting payment isn't going to be as easy as I thought and I can't begin until the first cheque has been cleared." He looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry, but right now there's nothing I can do."

Hilary looked outraged and was beginning to launch into an ear bashing when something stopped her before she had a chance to utter a single word. Her body began to disappear starting from the feet upwards. She stared at Kai in terror as her stomach and then her arms vanished until it was just her head that was left.

"Heeelllp…." She screamed as the rest of her faded away into nothing.

Kai was left staring at the spot which, only a few seconds ago, she had occupied. Gathering himself together, he left the room at top speed and knocked on doors and yelled for everyone to gather in the staff room-which also acted as the tea room during lunches. He entered it and waited until he had been joined by all his staff before beginning a staff meeting.

The seven teenagers stared at their boss and exchanged confused glances at their boss's panicked appearance.

"I just encountered a ghost!" Kai began.

"Oh, my God!" Tyson faked dramatics. "Run for your lives!"

Kai glared at him and he immediately shut up. "She was different from any other case I've ever encountered." They looked at him for an explanation. "This girl was incapable of making any sort of contact with solid objects which _every_ spirit should be able to do and, more importantly, she was warm, not cold."

"Where is she now?" Mariah asked.

"I think she crossed over, but even _that_ was weird, too."

Kenny took a break from typing. "How so?"

"There was no light. Every time a ghost crosses over a bright light bursts through them. She just disappeared."

"That _is_ weird." Ray nodded in agreement. "I've never encountered it either."

Suddenly a familiar girl materialized in the middle of the table and they all, minus Kai, screamed in surprise. Kai's jaw dropped in amazement. He had thought she was gone, yet here was Hilary Tatibana standing in the middle of the table as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"Sorry about that," She grinned sheepishly. "That occasionally happens to me." She walked away from the table and sat down on an unoccupied seat and looked around her.

The room was full off professional looking teenagers all dressed in suits, or skirt suits in the case of the two girls, and from all sorts of different nationalities. There was a Chinese boy with black hair and whose amber eyes ate at her as if they couldn't quite believe she was there. There were two Japanese men sitting beside each other. One had glasses, light brown bangs of hair and was clutching a laptop. The other had blue hair and brown eyes and was being grabbed for dear life by an American girl. She was gorguess with her black hair and ocean blue eyes. Next to her another pretty girl sat. This one was Chinese and possessed the same amber eyes as the other one from her country but her hair was almost pink. There was another American boy beside her whose initial shocked expression had now developed into a wide grin. He rubbed his blonde hair in embarrassment and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle. The last one was a Russian, like Kai, who had red hair and striking ice-blue eyes. He seemed to be looking at Kai darkly for an explanation.

Kai, however stared at her in bewilderment. "What happened?"

She laughed nervously as she felt all eyes on her. "Well, have you ever had the dream when you think you're waking up?" Some of them nodded. "Well that's the only feeling I can think of to describe it. It's like its all dark but I can feel that my eyes are ready to open at any minute and I can almost feel the light entering them. Except," She looked sad. "Except it doesn't happen. I don't wake up. Instead, I feel a stinging sensation, like a needle's pricking at my skin and then I'm hurtled back into reality." She drew her knees up to her body and wrapped her arms tightly around them. "I hate it when it happens." She met with Kai's crimson eyes pleadingly. "I know you said you can't help me without any money but I'm _desperate_. Please Kai."

"Oh, Kai said that did he?" The black haired girl said, casting an ashamed look at Kai. "Well maybe he's not willing to help you but we certainly are." The other's agreed with her wholeheartedly. "What's your name?"

"Hilary Tatibana."

"Pleasure to meet you." She smiled. "I'm Garnet Granger. This is my cousin Tyson Granger, Max Tate, Ray Kon, Mariah Hiwatari –Kai's cousin, Tala Ivanov, you've met Kai already and Kenny." She smiled teasingly. "We never use his second name. He's just Kenny The Chief." They all nodded as their names were called except Kai who glowered at Garnet. If the girl noticed, she didn't seem to care. "I promise you. We'll help you get to where you're meant to be."

"Thank you so much," Hilary gushed. "I knew there was a reason I appeared here!"

"I'm sorry," Tala intervened. "You _appeared_ here?"

"Uhhuh. For some reason when I was walking I ended up in Kai's office. It's happened a few times but he's never been around to see me." She looked around her. "I don't remember seeing any other parts of the building."

"There's nothing much here." Mariah said. "On the ground floor are the offices and upstairs are the bedrooms. This used to be an inn." She explained. "It went on sale at a low price due to inexplicable events which we discovered was due to paranormal activity in this building from years ago. It's all been fixed now," She added hastily.

"May I remind you who the boss is here?" Kai barked. Everyone immediately cast their eyes away. Kai turned his to Hilary. "Fine. We will help you. But not until tomorrow." Max opened his mouth to protest. "Not until tomorrow."

"What will I do 'til then?" Hilary pleaded.

Kai shrugged. "You're a ghost. Go haunt."

Hilary's previously excitement had instantly deflated and she stood up and held her head high, not wanting to show anyone that her feelings had been hurt. She walked through the walls, ignoring Garnet's calls to wait, and left the building altogether.

"Haunt he says," Hilary said bitterly. "Who on earth can I haunt. No one can even see or hear me-" She smiled wickedly as an idea cropped into her head.

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Kai lay awake in bed that evening ashamed of himself and the way he had treated some one in so much need of his assistance. All his friends had been mad at him for dismissing her so harshly. They had every right to be and he had realised that too late. What if she didn't come back tomorrow? He tried as hard as he could to shut his eyes and sleep so he could forget this awful feeling that lay in the bottom of his stomach. Sleep wouldn't come though. His body was punishing him for his mind's mistakes.

His crimson eyes flickered open when he sensed he wasn't alone in his room anymore. There, sitting at the bottom of his bed was the very same Hilary Tatibana who he's worried he would never see again.

"Hilary!" He exclaimed, trying to hide the relief in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

The ruby eyed girl smiled evilly. "Haunting."

Kai looked at her in puzzlement. How could she possible haunt him? Then, he realised to his horror just how Hilary intended on haunting him.

"Ten thousand green bottles, standing on the wall. Ten thousand green bottles standing on the wall," She sang. "And if one green bottle should accidentally fall, there'll be nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine green bottles standing on the wall."

He looked at her in disbelief. He decided to pretend it wasn't bothering him and lay back in bed.He tossed and turned but once again his old buddy sleep was failing him again. He pulled a pillow over his head to try and drown out her voice but it wouldn't work. He groaned in frustration and sat back up.

"What do you want?" He asked at nine thousand eight hundred and ninety-two green bottles.

Hilary stopped singing. "I want you to apologise."

"For what?"

"Nine thousand eight hundred and ninety-two green bottles-"

"All right!" Kai yelled. "All right. I'm sorry. I've been given a major guilt trip if it's any consolation."

Hilary smiled sweetly. "There's something else. I want you personally to help me. There's a reason it's _your_ office I keep ending up in."

"Hilary, I'm really busy at work-"

"Nine thousand-"

"Fine." Kai sighed deeply. "Okay, you win. I'll help you in any way I can. Just, please. No more singing."

"Thanks Kai," She stood up and let the moonlight from Kai's window frame her spirit form.

Kai stared at her. He hadn't realised that this ghost was actually really beautiful in her short, but not too short, blue denim skirt and pink vest top to match. The moonlight just brought out her features and almost made her look like she was living. She noticed him staring at her and smiled again but this smile told a thousand stories. There was a deep sorrow within it that Kai was sure she hadn't meant to show.

It was strange what the moon could do to people.

"I'll be here tomorrow, Kai." She disappeared through his locked door, leaving Kai alone once  
again.

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Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	3. Bad News And Worse News

Thanks for your reviews:

Nubia: I can't reply personally so I'll reply here. Thanks for reviewing!

I must say, you're all pretty clever with you're guesses!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade  


Bad News And Worse News 

Hilary kicked her legs over the back of the couch as Kai took out his notepad and pen. She folded her arms under her head and waited patiently for Kai to begin his interrogation, or, as he put it, helping her. She knew better. Watching him carefully with her ruby eyes as he inserted a blank CD into a recorder and adjusted the microphone volume, her patience ran out and she faked a yawn of boredom to which Kai completely ignored. He explained he used recording equipment so that he could research her case when he had spare time and also as a reminder on what questions get what responses. Hilary nodded like she completely understood.

When he was satisfied that everything was in order, Kai pressed the button that started the recording and the small microphone flashed a green light to indicate it was picking up. "The first thing that normally holds a spirit back is that they have unresolved issues due to family conflict. Can you tell me about your relationships with your family?"

"Well," Hilary began, "there's not much conflict involved at all. I live with both my parents and a younger brother and sister. I mean, I argue with them a lot, you know, about TV and when she steals my make up and clothes and stuff. I don't think I'm going to stay behind for the sake of a lost lip gloss though, do you?" She cocked a brown eyebrow at him as he busied himself in his notepad again. "And what's the point of recording this anyway? Will it even pick up anything that I say?"

"_I_ will be able to hear what you say," Kai sighed impatiently. "To anyone else, they'll just hear static, much like what would have happened if you'd talked to your mother yesterday."

"Is that like that EVP thing I saw in that movie?" Hilary asked excitedly.

Kai gritted his teeth in annoyance but tried to keep a pleasant expression. "No. Can we continue or are you just going to keep interrupting?"

Hilary stared at his face like there was a third eye coming out. "What's up with your face? It looks like it's about to transform into a monster or something."

He cleared his throat. "Can we move on?" He didn't give her time to interject with another smart comment. "Are there any serious arguments that you never resolved between you're parents?"

"Nope. None. We never really had any major fall outs." She smirked. "I've never been grounded, you know."

"Good for you," Kai's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You know if your sarcasm gets any thicker it's gonna start drooling out your mouth."

Kai narrowed his eyes at her but she smiled sweetly. "So there's nothing with your parents. Any other members?" He said through clenched teeth.

"Actually," Hilary bit her lip in recollection. "Now I think about it, we did have one fall out. It was silly, really, but I can't quite remember it completely."

"Try."

She looked at him in disbelief. "You can't just make yourself remember something. If it's gone, it's gone."

"This may be the key to why you haven't passed over. Hilary," He softened his expression. "I'm trying, but you need to try to."

"You've changed your tune." She looked at him suspiciously. "Where's the moody guy that was Oh-so-nice to me yesterday?"

Kai shrugged. "I'm sorry about that."

Hilary didn't change her expression. "Alright. That doesn't change anything. I still can't remember. But enough about me, what about you? Do you have any family?"

"We're not here to discuss my problems so-"

"Oh there's problems?" Hilary sounded almost delighted. "Maybe I can help you out." He looked uncertain. "Oh come on. Just tell me about your family and I'll promise I'll stop prying. Unless you want me to sing again?"

Kai smirked. "I'll pass on the singing. But, there's not much to say about my family. I was brought up in a wealthy house with an older sister and younger brother. He died at a young age when he caught pneumonia. He'd been out in the snow one winter without much clothing when he'd snuck out to play." His voice almost choked. "I found him, lying in the snow shivering. He wouldn't stop. Russian winters are just too cold." He paused for a few seconds before his voice regained it's usual monotonous tone. "I don't talk to my sister much anymore. My parents are also dead. They died last year. He had a heart attack and I guess when his broke, my mom's did too."

"I'm so sorry," Hilary said in sympathy. "You don't have to say anything more." She pressed a hand to her heart. "Unless you want to?"

"That's about it anyway. Except my only other family is Mariah and her parents who I'm on good terms with and my grandfather. He blames me for my father's death." He blanked his face so she could no longer read his emotions. "I was always causing him trouble since I never really was one for rules. He thinks I drove him to an early grave." His bitterness almost stung her.

"Kai…" Hilary sat up and placed a hand just above his shoulder.

He could feel the heat she was emitting and let himself relax as is began to coarse through his body like an adrenalin rush. She could feel it too: the warmth that was exploding through her from such a sudden small gesture. Her ruby eyes met his crimson and they looked at each other. An unfamiliar feeling crept upon Kai and he cleared his throat again.

"We're not here to discuss my problems. I shouldn't have got carried away like that." He stood up and switched off the recorder. "It was unprofessional. Excuse me, Hilary."

"Professional, Kai?" Hilary said in disbelief. "You're like eighteen. A teenager. You're too young to be professional all the time. Kai!" She shouted at him as he walked out the door. Whether he heard her or not, he'd made no indication. She flopped back down onto the couch. It seemed she wasn't the only one who needed help.

She walked out of the room in search of some one else since Kai had disappeared. She smiled as she spotted Ray. She called on the Chinese boy who greeted her with a wave.

"How'd it go with Kai?" He asked.

She frowned. "I don't know. I don't think we got very far."

"I'm sure we'll get there. Kenny's researching your case as we speak. If there's anything in cyberspace relating to your or your condition, he'll find it."

"That's good. Are you going out?" She indicated to his jacket.

"Yeah. I have a house call from people who say their house is haunted." He glanced at her thoughtfully. "I don't suppose you want to come?"

Hilary clasped her hands together in delight. "And see you in action? Really?"

Ray nodded. "Come on then. We'll just drive there in case we need to make a speedy exit."

Hilary followed him to his blue jeep and he opened the door for her before getting in himself.

He fastened his seat belt and started his car. "Strap in."

Hilary flashed him a look of annoyance. "Yeah because dying twice would be a bummer."

He cringed as he realised his mistake. "Sorry Hilary. I didn't realise what I was saying."

He drove on in without saying another word to her until they reached the driveway of a two storey house. He clambered out of the car and she did the same. They continued to the front door where Ray rang a door bell which was answered by a decrepit looking elderly man.

"Is he the ghost?" Hilary muttered and Ray tried his best not to laugh.

"Hello, sir. My name is Ray Kon from Paranormal Psychiatrists." He extended a hand which the man took. "We received a distress call from you yesterday?"

"Yes." The man nodded slowly.

"I'm Hilary Tatibana," Hilary smiled but was completely ignored as Ray was led inside and she just made it before the door was shut in her face.

"He can't see you," Ray hissed.

"All sorts of strange things have been happening to my wife and I since about two weeks ago. My granddaughter's room has been completely trashed on several occasions and the books in our bookshelves have been thrown off. It's as if some one's looking for something." He explained.

"Then that may be the case. I'll take a look around." He was left on his own with Hilary who was now sitting on the floor crossed legged and arms folded. "Don't be like that, Hilary."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is some one actually talking to me?" Hilary faked surprise.

Ray cocked an eyebrow. "We'll check the granddaughter's room first."

They went up the stairs and checked the room's until they found the one they were looking for. But they were not alone. There, sitting on the floor in much the same pose Hilary had been in, was a little girl in a white dress who was crying softly. Her face was lined with ringlets and they bounced around her as she looked up to see who had invaded her room.

"Awww!" Hilary cooed. "She's adorable."

"She's a ghost," Ray said and frowned. "Hey there. What's the matter?"

"No one will play with me," She sniffed. "So I was looking for my teddy bear but now I can't find him."

"Aww, she's looking for her teddy bear!" Hilary squealed.

"Do you know who has your teddy bear?" Ray asked her.

"My grand pappy put him away. He's all alone now."

Hilary crouched down beside her. "Don't worry, we'll find you're teddy bear."

There was a chap on the door and an elderly woman came inside and looked at them sadly. "Have you found anything?"

Ray nodded. "Did your granddaughter pass away?"

She gasped quietly. "Yes. She was run down by a car when she dropped her bear on the middle of the road."

"She's still here, looking for it." Ray smiled softly. "Where is it now?"

"I-it's in the trash. It's going to be taken away tomorrow." Her old weary eyes searched the room. "Is she really here?"

"Yes. She's in the room while we speak. She wants her teddy back."

The girl wiped her tears away. "Can I get my teddy bear?"

"Can she get her teddy bear?" Ray repeated.

A small smile spread across the woman's wrinkled face. "She never would go anywhere without that old bear. I'll get it for you now."

A few minutes later she returned with a scruffy, brown bear and handed it to Ray. He admired it for a few seconds. One of its beaded eyes was hanging off and there were patches of fur that had been completely removed. Still, the girl seemed delighted at having found it again and held her hands out expectantly. Ray gave her the bear and she hugged it tightly before being engulfed in a bright, white light.

"She's gone?" Hilary asked and looked around her to see.

"She's moved on to the next world," Ray said to both Hilary and the woman.

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Ray and Hilary arrived back to find that everyone was waiting for their return. Ray looked at them all in confusion before handing Kai an envelope which had been given to him by the old couple. Hilary shifted her weight nervously as she waited for some one to explain why she was being stared at like she was some bizarre scientific experiment.

"There's bad news and there's worse news, Hilary," Kenny said.

Hilary swallowed hard. "I'll take the bad news first."

"The bad news is that's there's nothing about you on any files I could find on the internet so we still have no idea what's happened to you."

"And the worse news?" She prompted.

Kenny cleaned his glasses before continuing. "I think I know what you are. You're not a ghost, as such. More like an entity. It's as if half of your soul is there but half is somewhere else. That's why you can't make physical contact with anything."

Hilary screamed in excitement. "So I'm not dead? I'm still alive? How could that possibly be bad?"

"Because," Max took over from Kenny. "Because that means that you're in a deep sleep that could be mistaken for death by your soul." He looked round everyone to include them all. "We think you're in a coma."

Hilary looked puzzled. "But that's still better than being dead." She looked at their solemn stares. "Right?"

Garnet ran a hand through her hair. "Not if you don't wake up. Hilary, if you die while your soul is separated in two then..." Her face creased with worry.

Hilary choked. "How could this happen?"

Tala shrugged. "We don't know. It just has."

"So you don't know when I'll stop being like this? Or wither I'll live or disappear?" Hilary felt like crying but no tears would come. "I may or may not vanish this time tomorrow? Or the next day? Or the next month? What kind of way is that to exist?"

"Actually," Mariah said, trying to console her, "I think if we can find out what happened to you then you're soul will be satisfied and rejoin you're body."

"And if you can't? If you run out of time?"

She didn't want to hear the answer but Kai gave her it anyway.

He didn't meet her eyes but instead stared at the wall. "You remain in this state for eternity."

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Please review!

jellybean-kitty xx


	4. Craig East

Thanks to Nubia who I couldn't reply to personally: Thanks for pointing out that spelling error. I'm always making that mistake when I'm typing. And also, I meant if her body dies as her entity can't die unless her body does, if it will die at all. Anyway, thanks for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.

Craig East

Garnet tapped on the door of the spare bedroom they'd assigned Hilary to 'sleep' in the next morning. "Hilary?" She called softly and opened the door to her room. Her heeled shoes clicked sharply on the wooden floor and her pony tail rhythmically bounced on every step.

Hilary lay on the bed with her back to Garnet. The sheets, the black haired girl noticed, hadn't moved an inch since last night. She walked over to the edge of the bed and sat on it, making the first crease.

"You have no idea how much I just wanted to curl up into bed last night, but I couldn't. I just wanted to crawl under those blankets and sleep but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't pick them up." Hilary sighed deeply. "I've been crying all night but none of my mascara's ran. The tears evaporated before they even reached my cheek. I tried to take my shoes off but the moment I'd pulled them away, they disappeared from my hands and back onto my feet." She climbed off the bed and walked to the full length mirror, staring sadly at the reflection she wasn't in. "If I'm like this long enough, will I forget what I look like?"

The other girl joined her by her side, her long pony tail swinging about her as she moved. "You won't get the chance to forget. We won't let that happen." She said with determination. "_Kai_ won't let that happen."

Hilary turned to her and met her eyes. "I wish I could believe you but even _I_ know Kai isn't willingly helping me. I'm just another ghost with a problem to him." Her voice had taken a bitter twist to it that Garnet winced at.

"Hil, you don't know Kai. _I _do. And I know that he spent all of last night on Kenny's computer trying to find even the teensiest bit of information that would help you." She smiled at Hilary with confidence. "If there's anyway to help you, believe me, Kai will find it."

"Hil….?" She whispered. "Some one called me that."

Garnet quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, hunny. Me."

"I don't mean just now. I mean when I was living. I-I" She screamed and tugged at her hair in frustration. "I can't remember. God, this's sucks so much it's unbelievable!" A small sigh escaped her lips. "All I can remember was that he was quite close to me."

"He?" Garnet asked.

"He."

"Hmm…" She twister her hair around her fingers thoughtfully. "So, we could be talking a brother, father, cousin, uncle, friend…boyfriend?"

Hilary's eyes widened in instant recognition. "Yes! Garnet you're a genius! I did have a boyfriend. His name was Craig." She snapped her fingers. "It was him my parents and I argued about!"

"Huh?"

"Get Kai!" Garnet stood stationery trying to solve the riddles Hilary had just been talking in. "Please, Garnet!" Hilary's previous melancholy was instantly removed and her usual bright self had made a triumphant return.

Garnet snapped out of her daze and rushed out the room, yelling for Kai at the top of her lungs which, Hilary noticed, was pretty loud. A few seconds later Kai ran into her room and looked at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" He demanded. "Garnet said it was an emergency." Said girl had now appeared at the door and made a thumb's up sign at Hilary who was completely baffled as to why. Kai saw her staring behind him and turned round just after Garnet had disappeared again. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing." She smiled. "I've just had a brainwave." Her voice had taken on a sing-song edge. Kai indicated for her to elaborate and she did. "It was something Garnet called me this morning. Hil. I remembered some one who was close to me calling me that very same name. Craig East, my boyfriend." Her smile widened. "It's so clear now. I can picture him so vividly, it's like he's right by my side." Her fingers stretched out in front of her and grasped the air. "But I guess he's not."

"So you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes I have a boyfriend," She snapped. "What's so hard to believe about that?"

Kai ignored her question. "Is that everything?"

"Uh, I do think that's a major breakthrough in the help-my-soul's-detached-from-my-body case. And if you can recall our little interview yesterday?" Kai nodded. He'd listened to it the recording the first chance he got. And other's. "Well, the argument I was talking about was about Craig. My parents disapproved of him. They thought he was a bad influence or something-"

"So that's your major breakthrough?" Kai interrupted, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's all you can think off?"

Hilary stamped her foot. "If you would just let me finish I can maybe tell you the rest!" Kai leant against the wall and folded his arms, indicating that he wouldn't interrupt her again. "Thank you. I can remember on the night I went into my coma-"

"If it is a coma."

"Kai!"

Kai smirked at her annoyance. "Just keeping things in perspective."

"Humph." She crossed her arms too. "Do you wanna hear the rest? Well, as I was saying," she glared at him, daring him to try and interrupt again, "the night _my soul separated from my body_," she imitated Kai's monotonous voice, "I was going to meet him. The last thing that I can think of was when I left my house because I had a guilty feeling since I had to lie to my mom about where I was going." She smirked, satisfied. "Now I'm done."

Kai pushed himself off the wall, impressed that she'd been able to think of things that were so useful to him. "I have to say, Hilary, well done." She beamed at his praise. "_That_ is something we can work with."

Hilary looked at him suspiciously. "Just what are you planning?"

Kai smirked again. "I think I'm going to pay Craig a visit."

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Max and Kai followed Hilary to the apartment blocks that Craig East lived in. They were quite luxurious for a teenage boy to be able to afford and when Kai pointed this out, Hilary explained that Craig was actually twenty two years old and had a job in his father's esteemed computing company. Kai mentally noted this and rapped on his door sharply.

A man with well kept black hair, slicked back on his forehead professionally, and a very handsome face answered. He looked taken aback as he saw the two teenagers dressed in all black suits and wearing facial expressions as serious as their attire. He cocked an eyebrow in amusement as the two entered his apartment without waiting for an invitation. He closed the door after them.

"Craig East?" Kai asked as the man nodded to his name. "My name is Special Agent Kai Wallace and this is my partner, Special Agent Max Graham." The two boys flicked their identity wallets open and closed so quickly Craig hadn't been able to see they were fakes. "We're from the Los Angeles unit of the FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Feel free." Craig's voice was as smooth as he was. It had a flavour to it which showed he wasn't a common man but had been brought up in wealth. Like Kai's.

Max took out a voice recorder and nodded to Kai.

"Do you know a Miss Hilary Tatibana?"

"Yes."

"And what would you say your relationship is with her?"

"She was my girlfriend."

"Was?" Kai prompted.

Craig nodded sadly. "She had an accident about a week ago but I'm sure you already know that." He looked at Kai slyly.

Kai raised his eyebrows. "I'd like to hear your side of things."

"Well," he began, "no one knows for sure what actually happened, but she was found shortly after eight o'clock on June fourteenth." He sighed deeply as if remembering was painful. "Her body was amassed with bruises and cuts. Some on did that to her-"

"So it wasn't an accident." Kai interrupted him.

"No, I guess not."

"Continue," He demanded.

Craig looked him up and down before abiding. "So now she's in a coma at L.A Regent Hospital."

Hilary squealed in delight. "So we know were my body is!"

"I'd like to thank you for your cooperation. It's been most helpful." Kai and Max walked back to the door but he stopped abruptly just outside. "Just one more question. Where were you on June fourteenth. What had you planned on doing?"

The man shrugged. "I'd been at work during the day and at night I'd planned on going out with the boys for a beer."

"LIAR!" Hilary screamed at him. "He was supposed to be meeting me!" She turned to Kai. "He's lying!"

Kai did his best to keep a straight face but Craig noticed the flicker of surprise. "Is there something wrong officer?" He asked. The suspicion was evident.

The blonde haired teen answered in place of his boss seeing as he was distracted by Hilary's instant screaming. "No, sir. We're just checking our stories. Do you, by chance, have an alibi?"

"Actually," Craig folded his arms. "Aren't you a little young to be working for the FBI? I'd like to see your ID again."

Max and Kai exchanged worried glances but were saved when Craig's pager started to beep. He grabbed it furiously from his waste.

"Shit!" He cursed. Then he turned to the two teenagers and sneered. "If I find you two punks around here again, it'll be more than a warrant for trespassing you'll have to deal with. Now if you excuse me, I have to go."

He banged his door closed, locking it instantly, before sauntering off into an elevator to take him to the ground floor. When he was completely gone, Max released the breath he had been holding and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Phew," He said. "That was a close one."

Hilary agreed. "But what he said wasn't true. Unless he was standing me up?" Her face looked worried. "I mean, why else would he lie about not meeting me? Unless….I perhaps hadn't planned on actually meeting him but paying him a visit…"

Kai frowned, causing deep lines to appear on his forehead. "I don't know. But now, we have a date and we know were your body is, so that's a start." He turned to Max. "What terms are you on with Mariam right now?"

"Why?" His cheeks started to turn red.

Max saw Kai's glint in his eye. "Her journalist contacts may come in handy."

"Who's Mariam?" Hilary asked.

"You'll see." Kai assured her.

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Standing outside the door of Mariam Heart's personal office Max took a deep a deep breath and put his hand on the door handle and the other in place to knock. Before doing so, he had explained a few things to Hilary. Mariam was their boutique of information regarding top secret stories about their clientele. She was the number one snoop when it came to uncovering sordid stories that were never meant for the public's eyes and the youngest journalist ever to have such an esteemed position in a major tabloid firm. And also that she had the Gift. Kai had felt it fit to add that both she and Max had had a flame that had not entirely burnt out, to which Max had glared at him for.

"If you're coming in, come in." A voice from inside the office barked. "Don't stand out there muttering all day."

"Don't worry," Max whispered to her as they went into the smart looking office. "Her bark's worse than her bite."

Mariam's piercing green eyes scanned her visitors and her face instantly brightened as she spied a familiar blonde amongst the ranks. "Max," Her voice exclaimed, giving his name two syllables. "Why didn't you say it was you. I'm so glad to see you." She smiled at Kai warmly. "And Kai, a pleasure. As always."

"It's great to see you too," Max said to her as he kissed her cheek.

Hilary felt her eyes scan over her.

"Who is this?" Mariam demanded. "Don't tell me that you're now employing ghosts?"

"Actually," Max explained. "This is Hilary Tatibana. She's one of our clients."

"I'm not actually a ghost." Hilary thought it best to put this in.

"She's right, Mariam." Max said when he noticed her sceptical look. "She's an entity. Her soul's just been separated from her body while she's in a coma, that's all. Or at least part of her soul anyway."

"And what a beautiful soul it is!" Mariam exclaimed. "If you don't mind me saying so."

The brunette felt her spirit cheeks flush a deep red. "Thank you."

The teenager tied her indigo hair up into a high pony tail, only leaving a section of her fringe out. "Considering all this, I'm going to guess that it's more business than pleasure your all here for."

"Unfortunately, it is." Max admitted a little too truthfully. "We need you to find out everything about a young girl being attacked on June fourteenth. That was the day Hilary went into her coma."

"And anything you can find on Craig East." Kai added.

"Craig East?" Mariam asked. "As in of East Computers?"

"The very same."

Mariam smirked. "This should be interesting. But I'll let you in on a little secret," She lowered her voice dramatically so the others had to bend in to hear her. "The East family's money isn't only spent on material things."

"What do you mean?" Asked Hilary. "Craig was my boyfriend. If there was anything funky going on with his family, surely I'd know."

"No need to get so offended." The other girl held her hands up in peace. "I'm only repeating rumours. Anyway, I'll find out what I can and get back to you."

"Thanks, Mariam." Max grinned. "We appreciate it."

She smiled back at him. "Anytime."

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he ushered everyone else out of her office.

"Tomorrow?" Hilary asked when they were safely out of ear shot. "What's happening tomorrow?"

"Couple's night." Kai replied.

"Yeah. On a Saturday night, all the couples go out on dates. Like Ray and Mariah, Garnet and Tala-"

"Garnet and Tala?" Hilary was surprised. "I didn't know they were seeing each other."

"They are. Anyway they all go out on their separate little dates."

Kai glanced at him sideways. "You left out you and Mariam."

"You always do that!" Max protested. "Mariam and I are strictly seeing each other on business terms only."

Kai snorted.

"Yeah, right." Hilary said. "And I'm a walking, talking piece of solid material."

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Please review! I'm hoping to put a bit of Kai/Hil in the next chapter but I'll need to see how it turns out! And also, I don't know if Mariam has a surname in the series so I made it up. If anything else is wrong with her, like her eye colour or something, please let me know!

jellybean-kitty


	5. Religion, Relationships and Revelations

Thanks to Nubia, who I couldn't reply to personally. Hopefully this time I won't have the same mistake! Probably another one, lol. Thanks for reviewing!

There's a bit of religous content in this chapter but I'd like to apologise incase some people are offended by it. Please let me know if I have.

I've also put the rating up, as I realise in future chapters that may be necessary. I'm not entirely sure how the rating goes here, however so it may be too high or still too low.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or She's All That.

Religion, Relationships and Revelations

Kai glanced across at Hilary as she leant on the opposite end of the couch they were both occupying. She seemed engrossed in the mindless drabble she had insisted watching on their rather small T.V. He felt a pang of irritation that he'd been left by himself to look after Hilary while everyone else went out to have fun. It wasn't that he didn't want to be left alone with her, it was just he had no idea how to possibly entertain some one he's only just met. And wasn't particularly made of solid material. He compressed his happiness as the credits finally rolled.

"What can we do now?" Hilary asked as soon as the upbeat theme tune finished. She tilted her head expectantly.

Trying not to show he was at a loss, Kai looked around the rather small sitting room. It was really the only place in the upper storey where you could really relax and forget the just a few metres below you were the offices. Sometimes living in his place of work was quite unsatisfying but no one else had ever seemed to mind so he never voiced his opinion. Besides, it was better than living alone.

Hilary waved a transparent hand in front of Kai's face. "Kaaii." He blinked several times. "Did you hear me?"

He spied the DVD cabinet standing prominently beside the T.V. "…we could watch a movie…"

"Great!" Hilary agreed enthusiastically and walked over to the masses of movies neatly stacked in the wooden frame. "What do you wanna watch?" She glanced over at Kai who shrugged nonchalantly. "Thanks for narrowing down the decision." She spent a few seconds scanning through them all. "Gosh, there's so many. Whose are they, anyway? There's too much of a diverse collection for them all to belong to the one person."

"They're everyone's. People just buy and add to them on occasion." Kai answered simply.

"Oh. Thanks for that intense explanation Kai. Honestly, if words were money, from the amount that you save you'd be a millionaire." Kai cocked an eyebrow at her in an unamused fashion. She giggled. "I'm sorry but I'm just making an observation."

Kai merely grunted. "Have you decided yet?"

"What about this one?" She gestured to a Disney movie and Kai unwillingly grimaced. "Okay, so no." She pointed to another one. "Is this any good?"

He moved over beside her. "This one?"

He moved his hand to her selected choice just as she went to reconfirm it. As soon as her hand went through his, a jolt of heat pulsed through his entire body like a comfort blanket he'd never had. Hilary immediately removed her hand and apologised. There was a sudden coldness that washed over Kai's hand that no amount of rubbing could remove. Trying to look unphased by the way his heart was now pounding he removed the box and slipped the disc into the player. They both retreated back to the couch, both silently cursing their beating and nonbeating hearts.

Before the film started, Kai felt obliged to say something to the girl. Anything at all. But, however intelligent he may be and no matter the skills he may have, the art of conversation was something he'd yet to master. Rather than saying something collected, he blurted out, "Do you want anything to eat?"

Hilary glared at him. "Was that some kind of cruel joke?"

He mentally kicked himself and wished Hilary would too. "I'm sorry. I wanted to say something but that was the only thing that came out."

"Out of all the words in the Oxford English dictionary, those are the ones that came out of your mouth unwillingly?" Her glare had now disappeared and there was a hint of amusement in her ruby eyes. "I didn't figure _you_ would be the type to get nervous talking to a girl." Her voice teased him enough to make a slight redness crawl on his cheeks which made her giggles turn into full blown laughter. "And now you're blushing!"

He decided to ignore her accusing statement and instead, concentrated on the film which had now started. Hilary, though not loosing her amused grin, did the same. They watched as a high school geek was turned into a beauty queen by a jock just in time for the school prom. Kai tried not to let his boredom seep through his mask but inevitably, an hour of Freddy Prince. Jnr was really all one guy could take. If Hilary had noticed, she didn't let on. She was quite enjoying the predictable yet enjoyable storyline and the fact that, for once, she didn't need to worry about drooling over the handsome teen actors which graced the television screen.

"Wow," She said as the film concluded. "That rocked."

"It sure did," replied Kai.

"Our old buddy sarcasm's back then, huh?" She curled her legs underneath her ghostly from. "So, what now?" She looked at the clock on the wall. "It's only ten o'clock."

"I don't know. You choose."

Hilary thought for a moment. "Okay, let's talk. Like have an actual conversation, although I know the concept is hard to grasp."

"I have nothing to talk about."

"I'm sure that's not true. I bet you have hundreds to talk about." She smiled knowingly. "The problem is you don't wanna talk about it, am I right?" Kai made an uncommitted grunt. "So this won't be easy for me. Okay, how about I ask you five questions and then you ask me five questions?"

"I have nothing to ask you and I may not want to answer yours."

She shook her head and sighed. "This is a fun filled evening."

"I see you've met sarcasm too."

The girl looked at him in surprise. "Was that actually a joke you cracked?" Kai rolled his eyes. "Okay, we'll play a little game then. Do you have a pack of cards?"

"Somewhere. Why?" He demanded, feeling a little suspicious.

"Just get them and you'll see." Hilary teased again.

Kai reached across to the table that was positioned in the middle of the room. He reached underneath and produced a pack of playing cards. "I don't see what good they'll do since you can't actually play."

"I don't need to. Are you feeling lucky? 'Cause that's what this game's about. Basically, you pick a card from the top of the deck, without looking, and say a number and I'll say a number. If you're closer, then you can ask me something. If I'm closer, I ask you. Got it?" She narrowed her eyes. "Or are you chicken?"

He sighed deeply and exaggeratedly. "Fine. I'll play." Shuffling the deck until he was sure the cards were well and truly mixed, he placed the pile on the centre of the couch and picked one up. "…Six."

"Choosing the middle one then, huh?" Hilary shook her head in mock disappointment. "I thought you'd be daring." She met his eyes. "Seven."

Flipping it over, he revealed a ten of clubs. Hilary squealed in delight and clapped her hands together. She paused, trying to think of a really good question to ask him. Something which would let her get to know him better which she wanted to incase she was stuck this way for a very, very long time.

"What made you become a psychologist? I mean I'm sure there're many people who would have assumed helping people was the last thing on your mind."

Kai seemed to think for a moment. "…My friends wanted to help people. Well, Mariah and Garnet, anyway. They always said that the Gift was a present from God and we should be using it in the way that He would want. I'd already lost my family, so I would have been damned if I lost my friends too. Tala must have been the same since he agreed too."

"Do you believe that there's a God?"

Kai smirked. "You have to win that question." He took another card. "Three."

"Ten."

"It's a five." He looked up at the ceiling. "What's your relationship with Craig East right now? I know he was your boyfriend, but I'm assuming that'll have changed."

"I don't love him, if that's what you mean." She tried to judge his reaction to this but saw none. "I guess, we'll be well and truly over. I mean, if I wake up."

Kai nodded. "He didn't seem like a nice guy." There was an edge to his voice that Hilary though she could easily cut herself on.

"He was charming. And, I guess, out of my league. And mysterious." She bit her lip. "A bit like you." Kai's eyebrows shot up but wither it was that he was insulted at being compared to East or if it was the surprise by what she said, Hilary couldn't tell. "Except you're not charming _or_ out of my league." She hastily added.

He glared at her but his heart wasn't completely in it. "Eight."

"Umm… two." A two it was. "Do you believe in God?" Kai shook his head. "Oh, come on," Hilary complained. "I deserve an explanation at least."

"I don't believe that there is a God. The others seem to, but they all have different ideas of what this God is. I do think that there's a greater force out there because that's the only thing that explains why I'm Gifted. Or cursed." He paused for a moment. "I just can't understand why, if there is a God, He'd be so cruel as to take my little brother, my mother _and_ my father away."

"God moves in mysterious ways," Hilary said with a hint of sympathy in her words. "I mean, why else would He have guided me here, of all places?"

"Hn." Kai grunted to deter the fact that he wasn't sure either. He took another card from the pile. "Jack."

"Five." Hilary won once again as a six was revealed. "What kind of relationships have you had in the past and what about now?"

Kai let out an unamused snigger. "They've not exactly been great. I've had many in the past, but they've not meant much to me. The only one that ever had was with Garnet." Hilary blinked several times in surprise. "But we've been friends so long she became like a sister and so we ended it. Currently though, there's no relationship on the go."

"Is that your choice?" Hilary asked, knowing that he'd probably not answer unless she won again.

She was mistaken. "Partly. But partly no. I've not found some one that I want to be with."

"…Me neither."

They regarded each other, crimson eyes and ruby meeting almost shyly on both parts. Then Hilary did the most unexpected thing. She smiled. It was a full smile which bared her teeth and made her translucent eyes sparkle and not just the little ones she had been displaying now and then. Kai was so taken aback by this unexpected flare of contentedness that he found himself smiling with her. If it was possible, Hilary's smile then widened. Realising what he was doing, Kai's face regained it's usual expressionless mask and he looked away from her.

Still smiling, Hilary regarded his sudden change. "Why did you stop? You have such a nice smile." Kai remained silent. "Oh, come on. Don't be such a sourpuss!" His lips remained firmly shut. She sighed and folded her arms. "I thought I was getting somewhere too," She muttered to herself, though Kai still heard it. Then in a more audible voice, she added, "if wasn't just a soul, I'd so be tickling you to get that smile back."

Kai smirked. "I'm not ticklish."

Hilary raised her eyebrow. "Oh, really? Well if I ever get the chance, I want to test that theory out." Her smile faded away to nothing. "If I ever get that chance."

This sudden change in heart didn't suit her. Kai wanted her to grin again, no matter how inane it might have sounded. He placed his hands above hers, the closest thing he could think of for contact and bent his head so he was looking into her eyes.

"I promise you, you will get that chance."

His voice had a certain earnest to it that Hilary believed him. Even when she knew that such a promise would be next to impossible to keep. An unnecessary thought then ran through her mind that, as much as she tried to suppress it, it surfaced and caused her to burst into a fit of laughter. A hurt look crossed Kai's face and he pushed himself away from her and crossed his arms, scowling at the wall.

"I'm glad you find it so funny."

Hilary wiped a tear from her eye as she continued to laugh even harder. "I'm sorry," She said in between giggles. "I appreciate what you said but it's just the way you said it." She bit her lip to stop herself from further annoying the already pissed off man sitting along from her. "It's just, it kinda meant that you wanted me to get a chance to tickle you."

Kai let his eyes assess her expression and found she genuinely meant what she said. He let his scowl melt away and even let himself chuckle a bit as he caught the funny side. "I guess you're right."

She let out a sigh of relief that he wasn't annoyed with her anymore. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Hilary broke it. "That means a lot to me. What you said." She glanced down at her hands and began to twiddle her fingers. "Why did you say that, anyway?"

He tried to think of a reason. He already knew it. He already knew that it was because, even though he'd really only just met her, there was something about her that immediately lifted his spirits whenever she was around. He relished the feeling he got when they touched: the warmth, the comfort, the security. Even the way she talked and acted around him was refreshing. It had been so long since he'd met some one he'd instantly clicked with. More to the point, he wanted to see her in the flesh. And he'd be damned if he'd lose that chance.

He couldn't tell her any of that though. "…I just did."

"That's not something you just say, Kai."

He could feel her eyes scrutinising him, though not judgingly. He gathered that she was probably just as confused as he was. Then he did something that showed it wasn't only Hilary who was capable of surprises. He leaned over and kissed her. Hilary, shocked as she was, found herself returning it. Even though they weren't able to make physical contact, this was enough. Kai just knew that he was kissing him back. He could _feel_ her. She was there. Momentarily, he could feel every part of her was flesh and blood, even though it wasn't. He could taste her even though he couldn't. Their tongues clashed even though they weren't.

She was no different. Though her eyes were closed and this feeling of delight was imaginary, she felt as alive as she ever had when she was fully living. She could feel his hands around her make believe body. Then it clicked to her that it was make believe. None of this was real. Sure, he was kissing her and she was kissing him, but at the same time they weren't.

Kai felt the heat part from his mouth and opened his eyes again. "What's wrong?"

Hilary shook her head. "This is." Her voice had become a whisper. "Kai, I'm a ghost. And I may always be a ghost. We can't do this…"

Kai reached his hands, palms out stretched towards hers and, though she tried to fight it, she did the same until their hands were interlinking. Almost.

"We can," he insisted. He couldn't let his loss of control be for nothing. "You won't be a ghost for very much longer."

"But, Kai…" Her voice trailed away as once again he began to kiss her.

Maybe this wasn't real, but at least she knew the feelings were. She let herself melt into his kiss. But not for long. They were rudely interrupted as two intruders entered the room.

"OH MY GOD!" A feminine voice screamed.

"Jesus Christ!" Exclaimed a male one.

Kai and Hilary immediately pulled away and both looked at a gob smacked Tala and Garnet. The new arrivals looked at each other and blinked. Once. Twice. Then a wide and excited smile spread across her face and she tugged at Tala's arm.

"See, what did I tell you?" She said, hopping from one foot to another, which, in high stiletto heels, was quite a feat. "I so _knew_ this was gonna happen!"

Tala said nothing but just pointed at the body and a half occupying the couch and opened and closed his mouth a few times.

Looking at Hilary and then to the other two, Kai tried to regain his lost composure. "I can explain-"

"Oh, you don't have too," Garnet cut him off. "When love comes to town, love comes to town."

"We're not necessarily in _love_, Garnet," Hilary began but Garnet was having none of it.

She smiled devilishly. "Of course you're not…yet. I just _knew_ there was something there. The minute I saw you two together for the first time I knew it!" Dragging a still speechless Tala along with her, she excused herself and let the embarrassed teens be.

Hilary laughed nervously. "We're not in love."

"I agree." Kai confirmed.

"We can't be."

"It's impossible."

"Too soon."

"Absolutely."

But the way they were looking at each other said otherwise.

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I tried to get a little Kai/Hil-iness in here so what did you think? Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	6. The Body

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, in case I didn't reply.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

The Body

Hospitals always made Kai shiver, despite the L.A heat. There was something about them that made his skin crawl. Never, in his entire life, had he been admitted to one or, even if he had some flesh eating disease, would he allow himself to be. From all his experiences with them, anyone he knew who went in tended to not come out again.

He walked into the clean and white walled L.A Regent Hospital followed by Hilary and Mariah. Both had been silent as death on the way here. Silent as death. How appropriate. The receptionist smiled pleasantly as she saw the two teenagers approaching her desk and immediately stopped shuffling papers. She was young too and paid special attention to Kai as he leaned casually on her desk. Her half mooned glasses slid a little down her upturned nose.

"May I help you?" She asked politely.

"We're looking for Hilary Tatibana's room," He replied.

The girl, her name tag said Alice, typed a few details into her computer and frowned. "I'm afraid there's been no change in her condition or no improvement. And visiting hours are not for another hour since it's Monday." She pushed her glasses back up and looked at Kai. "I also can't let you in unless you're family and can prove your identity."

Kai patted his jean pockets helplessly. "I don't have any ID with me."

Alice smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry but I can't let you in to see her. There is a payphone down the hallway where you could phone your mom and dad, perhaps? I'm sure they'd be more than happy to come by and sign you in."

"That would be swell," Mariah said and took out a five dollar note. "I don't suppose you have change though?"

"Of course," Alice took her money and exchanged it for five dollar coins. "Remember, it's just down the hallway, near the staff cloakroom, which is signposted."

An idea struck Kai instantly and he allowed himself to smile a little. "Thank you."

He pulled on Mariah's arm and they walked away on the direction of the payphones. He ignored both girl's quizzical looks until they were safely out of sight of the reception desk. Then he stopped abruptly, almost causing Mariah to collide with him and Hilary go through her.

Turning to Hilary, he looked at her seriously. "I need you to go into the cloakroom and tell me if anyone's in there and if there are any overalls available."

Understanding him fully, she went inside and took a brief look around the empty room. For such professional people, the room sure was a mess. However, the cubbies at the very back of the room were clear and she could see that there were at least three uniforms not being used. She went back outside and revealed this information to Kai and Mariah.

He nodded. "Then we'll pose as doctors, find your room and get in and out before anyone realises we aren't supposed to be here."

"Sounds like a plan," Mariah agreed.

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Mariam Heart walked into the Paranormal Psychiatrists carrying a large brown envelope under her cream trench coat. She stopped at the reception desk and smiled at Tyson who was working there.

"What's up, hon?" She asked. "Is Kai around?"

Tyson shook his head. "Nope, he's out at L.A Regent. Why?"

She frowned ever so slightly. "I just wanted to give him this."

She slid forward the manila envelope and Tyson took it from her and took out the contents, scanning through them quickly. "These are great, Mariam. I'll be sure to give them to Kai when he gets back." He smirked slightly. "There isn't anyone else you want to see, is there?"

Her rouge lips smirked back. "Well, now that you mention it, is Max here?"

Mock hitting the side of his face, he feigned surprise. "Why on earth didn't I think of that?" Mariam cocked an amused eyebrow at him and he chuckled. "He's in Tala's office. It's down the corridor and second on the right."

"Thanks, Tyson."

She nodded to him and found her way to Tala's office, knocked lightly and entered it. Max was immediately flustered and kept checking his reflection in the glass of Tala's filing cabinet. Trying not to laugh at his nervous antics, she walked forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Tala turned his cheek towards her expectantly. "Where's my kiss, Heart?"

She put her hands on hips in a good natured way. "I'm sure Miss Garnet has it, Ivanov."

The red heard smirked. "And what are your reasons for visiting, may I ask?"

Putting her hand into her coat pocket, she produced another envelope but this one was white and official looking. "I just so happen to have two tickets for the June Ball in L.A Townhall. A certain confidante of mine informs me that a Mister Craig East will be attending." She turned to Max. "The only problem is that, alas, I am dateless."

Max shoulders drooped in disappointment. "I'm afraid I can't join you, Mariam. East knows who I am and if he sees me there then I'm a dead man."

She sighed. "You're kidding me." Flinging the envelope onto Tala's desk she folded her arms and pouted. "I'm not going to be going then. I only wanted to go with you."

Tala picked the envelope up thoughtfully. "I don't suppose you'd give the tickets away to people who can attend this…'prestigious' gathering?"

"I guess so. Why?"

Tala smirked. "I know a certain raven haired beauty who'd be more than happy to wine and dine with the A-listers."

"You mean you and Garnet?" Mariam asked and stroked her ponytail thoughtfully. "East doesn't know you two…no one does…" A slow smile spread across her face and her green eyes sparkled mischievously. "I do believe that that, Mr. Ivanov, is a plan."

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Kai peered at his clipboard intently as he waited for some staff to pass him. Mariah did the same. Only when they had rounded the corner did he signal that they could stop. He looked over at the pinkette. Beads of sweat had risen on her forehead.

"Wow," She breathed. "This is so….exhilirating. My heart is racing!"

Before Kai could answer Hilary appeared through a door. "It's not in there."

He frowned. "Is has to be somewhere here."

"There're a few more rooms down the corridor that I haven't checked," She disappeared through more doorways and a few seconds later she yelled successfully. "Guys, come here! This is my room!"

Kai looked at his wristwatch. They only had about half an hour left before her family could come in and see her. This would have to be quick. He opened the door that Hilary was calling from and left Mariah to close it behind her. He checked the board at the foot of the bed. It read 'Tatibana, Hilary'.

Said girl was nervously rubbing her arm and looking at a bed that was covered by a white curtain. "I didn't want to look," She explained. "To be honest, I'm kinda scared of what I might see…"

Mariah smiled softly at her. "We're here. You don't have to be."

Kai didn't say anything but grabbed the curtain. "Ready?"

She nodded. He pulled. She gasped.

There, on the immaculately clean bed, lay Hilary's body. She looked as though she was in deep sleep. She would have been beautiful had it not been for the bruises covering her face and exposed arms. Obviously a lot of care had gone into cleaning her up but they were there all the same.

Kai looked at Hilary. He was worried. There were tears in her eyes as she slowly stepped towards her body and stroked the surface of her cheek. He felt Mariah grip his wrist as she took it all in: the bruises, the drip, the steady beat of a heart monitor.

"Hilary…" He softly said.

She shook her head as if trying to make this all better. "What did I do to deserve this?" She whispered. "I…don't understand what I could possibly have done to some one." She took her hand away where it tenderly stroked her hair. "It must have been so…vicious. I must have been in so much pain, so scared…"

"I know this isn't the best time but is it bringing back any more memories?" Kai asked. His eyes showed the deep concern that his voice lacked.

She closed her ruby eyes in concentration.

"Anything at all, Hil." Mariah said in hope that she could give them something to work with.

"I can see myself leaving my house," Hilary began. "I…just talked to my brother and I took something from him. I left my house with it." She opened her eyes again. "I can remember a feeling of anger that's so strong I can hardly believe it's from me."

Kai smiled at her slightly. "Then we know to talk to your brother."

There was a noise coming from outside the room and to Kai's horror, the door handle began to twist. An old man, a doctor, entered the room and looked at Kai and Mariah in alarm. This faded as he recognised their blue uniformed overalls and he smiled in recognition.

"You must be the students. I'm Doctor James Roy." He said and offered a hand to them which they took readily. He walked over to Hilary's bed and gestured for them to join him. "I'm surprised they allowed you to come in here," He said thoughtfully. "Miss Tatibana is a private patient, courtesy of her boyfriend." He delicately checked her drip. "It's a real shame, what happened to her. She's so young."

Mariah nodded solemnly. "I'm sure she'll agree."

"To die, so young…"

"Excuse me?" Kai butted in, the sheer horror and shock prominent on his face. "Die? But, she's pretty healthy according to her chart."

A look of irritation crossed Roy's face but vanished just as quickly. "Yes, but she's showing no sign of improvement and it's in my educated opinion that her place in the hospital should be given to some one else. A new patient who may recover." He peered over his wire rimmed spectacles. "Mr. East agrees with me."

Kai folded his arms, not liking what he was hearing one bit. "Could you explain to me, Doctor Roy, just what you mean by her place being given to some one else?"

"Well," He began, matter-of-factly, "By Friday, we're planning on disengaging her drip and the oxygen mask."

"So you're going to kill her?" Kai almost yelled. "But you can't!"

Roy looked at him coyly. "And just why not? She's showing no signs of recovery. Other people are in desperate need of her equipment, people who have a chance."

Mariah shook her head. "He's right, sir. That's not fair! She's only been given two weeks to recover. Many patients get a lot longer than that! It's unjust!"

"Let me ask you something. There's a heart available for a transplant but there's two patients. One patient is an elderly man, about sixty, let's say, who has no other health problems other than a failing heart. The other, is a ten year old girl. Even is she is granted the heart, she'll always be unhealthy, sickly. Her quality of life will never improve. Who gets the heart?" He steadily watched both Kai and Mariah as they pondered over the question.

"…The elderly man." Kai said at last. "He'll have a better life and may even live another thirty or so years."

"Yes, but is it fair for the girl to die so young when the man's lived a good life?" Roy asked.

Mariah shrugged. "Then the girl then."

"Even though her life will probably be miserable?" Roy smiled softly. "You can argue both sides of the case and probably no one will ever be satisfied with the outcome."

"I still think it's wrong." Mariah insisted. "She should have more time."

Roy sighed and touched Hilary's forehead fondly. "I don't think anymore time will help. On Friday, we pull the plug. End of story." As if the emphasise his point, he left the room.

Kai looked at Hilary for the first time. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to upset. More to the point, she seemed more determined than ever. Her face was a mask of resilience he'd never thought he'd see in her.

Slowly, she began to smile. "Well, Kai. I hope you're up to a challenge."

Kai smirked. "There's never been a challenge that I've not beaten."

"I hope so," Hilary said, her mask faltering a little. "I really do."

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Garnet smiled at the camera's and allowed Tala to link arms with her as they walked up the steps into the Town Hall. The whole place was decorated with chandeliers and satin and silk. She, in her satin blue ankle length dress which had little knotted straps just above her shoulder, a straight leg and a plunging neckline, looked just like she belonged there. Her hair had been fixed onto a French roll at the back of her head with a few curled strands hanging down around her face. Over her exposed shoulder, she wore a glittering wrap of the same colour and material as her dress. On her pedicured feet she wore open toed heels in a pearl white colour which clipped the floor with every step she took.

Tala had also dressed to the occasion. He had on a well fitted tuxedo and an open necked shirt underneath. His black shoes had been finely polished to perfection and his hair had been tamed for the night. His iced blue eyes scanned the room for Craig East and spotted him at the bar sipping a glass of champagne. Steering Garnet with him, he tried to get to the bar but was cut off by a bouncer.

"Sir," He said. "Could I see your tickets?"

Garnet promptly produced two gold embroided tickets from her white clutch bag and the man grunted an apology for inconveniencing them. Once again, they aimed for the bar and to Craig East.

He was already watching Garnet and Tala approached with interested eyes. He smiled warmly at the two and especially Garnet. She had to admit, he certainly looked charming in his a tuxedo much like Tala's but more expensive and his dark hair was gelled back onto his head. Still, she was unnerved by the intensity of his gaze. Surely eye rape was illegal in this country?

She smiled back. "Hello. My name is Saphire Ranger." She offered him a hand which he brought up to his lips and kissed. She giggled flirtatiously. "I'm here in place of Mariam Heart."

Completely ignoring Tala, he nodded in recognition of her name. "So I gather you're a journalist." Garnet smiled sweetly. "I think you're too beautiful to be a journalist. Have you ever thought about modelling?"

She lightly hit him on the shoulder. "Oh stop!" She gushed and giggled once again.

"I'm serious," He linked her arm and began to walk her away. "I think we should talk."

Garnet looked over her shoulder at Tala and nodded. He nodded back. A knot wound up in his stomach as he watched his girlfriend be led off into a more secluded part of the town hall. Where no one else was. After a few minutes, he followed them and stood outside the door they went in and listened into the muffled conversation in case there were any signs of distress.

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"Tell me more about yourself," Garnet asked as she sipped a glass of wine. "Are you single?"

East smiled. "I am. Are you?"

Garnet shook her head. "That was my boyfriend we left behind."

He chuckled. "I can see it's true love."

"Is it that obvious?"

Reaching across the elegant red couch they were sitting on, he placed his hand on Garnet's. He looked deep into her blue ocean eyes.

Clearing her throat nervously, she opted to change the subject. "So…when was your last relationship?"

Regarding her oddly, he cocked his head to the side. "You're very interested, aren't you? Well, it must have been about two weeks ago. Maybe one. We weren't all that into each other and called it off."

Garnet suppressed the will to react to this. "What was her name? Was she pretty?"

He shrugged. "I guess Hilary was pretty." His hand snaked further up her arm and he leaned in closer. "Though not as pretty as you."

She laughed nervously. "I think my boyfriend's wondering were I am."

Smirking, he pinned her down to the couch. "Don't worry. Have some more wine." He offered her a top up but she refused politely. A dark look crossed his face. "Look, Miss Ranger, I'm a very powerful man and I'm used to having my way. You won't like it if I don't get my way, I assure you."

"Oh yeah?" Garnet asked and narrowed her eyes. "Well, _I'm_ pretty much as bratty as they come. Spoiled, too. I've never not had my own way and _I _assure _you_ that isn't going to change."

He chuckled maliciously. "And just what are you going to do?"

She took a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could. Tala instantly burst through the door causing. He saw East over Garnet's body and aimed a perfectly square punch at his cheekbone, knocking him out instantly.

"Come on," He said and grabbed her wrists. "We have to make sure we're no where near here when he wakes up."

"There'll be hell to pay." Garnet agreed.

They both walked as quickly as they could out of the exit and back to Paranormal Psychiatrists to report to Kai, vaguely aware of the evenings festivities carrying on at their backs as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

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Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	7. The Motive

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

The Motive 

Tyson looked at Kai from the passenger seat of his car, unsure about what they were about to do. His boss however seemed none the wiser: if he sensed Tyson's misgivings, he certainly didn't pick up on them. Kai was calm and collected, as usual. Why couldn't _he_ be? And why, out of everyone, had he been chosen to accompany him here? Didn't anyone understand that he, Tyson Granger, is a complete klutz when talking to kids?

At least some one seemed to sense his wariness. Hilary smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry, Tyson. My brother's cool. He'll totally listen to what you have to say."

"That's the problem…" Tyson said. "I tend to mess up in front of kids."

She cocked her head to the right. "What d'ya mean?"

He grinned sheepishly. "I kinda say stuff I shouldn't and let's just say I introduce words into their vocabulary that they shouldn't know."

"Ha!" She snorted. "This is almost downtown L.A. If there's a word my brother doesn't know I'll go up to New York and jump off the Empire State Building."

Kai smirked at her. "Is that before or after we reunite your soul with your body? Because with the former there's not much of a bet."

"Stop the car!" She yelled. "We're here."

They pulled up in front of a picturesque row of houses that looked as if they cost a pretty penny. Their brickwork was immaculate and tan in colour and most of the window sills sported plant plots with the season's greens, blues and reds. The house itself was quite big, considering the amount of rooms it must have. All in all, the neighbour hood looked pretty nice.

Tyson let out a long whistle. "If this is downtown L.A, I'd hate to see uptown."

Even Kai nodded his approval.

Hilary said nothing but shrugged it off. "My brother's home from school now and my parents'll be at work."

"How will we get him to talk to us?" Kai asked, straight to the point.

"Well, tell him the truth."

Kai looked at Tyson. "That's why you're here. Kids tend to listen to you more than they do me. They like you."

Tyson ran a hand through his hair. "Aww, shucks Kai. I didn't know you were capable of flattery."

"I wouldn't call it flattering that you're immature but whatever."

Hilary tittered as Tyson looked outraged by this statement. He slammed the door shut hard, acting like he was really insulted but Hilary could tell he was used to these kinds of statements from Kai. In fact, he seemed to think it was all one big act that he had to perform in.

They went up the steps that led to her front door and Kai rung the doorbell. A simple _ding dong_ echoed inside and small footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door. A young boy who looked about thirteen answered it. His brown bangs fell over his ruby eyes and he was still wearing his school uniform. He looked at the two older boys in shyness.

"Can I help you?" He asked. He sounded thirteen too.

Tyson felt a sharp dig to his ribcage. "Oww," He said to Kai. Then he turned to the boy. "Hey. I'm Tyson and this is Kai. We're friends of Hilary's. Could we come in?"

He looked at them and after a quick assessment of them in their casual looking jeans and t-shirts, he allowed them to enter. At the mention of his sister, though, a sadness had joined the shyness as he ked them into their family room.

"Umm…I'm Gary," He said as they all took a seat on Hilary's black leather couch. "How can I help you?"

"We need to find out something about your sister." Tyson said softly.

"They're killing her on Friday," He whispered as tears welled up in his eyes. "They didn't even ask us. They just said that they'd made their decision and there was nothing we could do."

Hilary sat down beside her brother and looked over him tenderly. She turned to Kai to help him. He saw tears were in her eyes too.

"That's why we're here," Kai smiled softly. "We can help her but we need you're help first."

"You see," Tyson took over," You probably won't believe this, but she's here. Right now. Her spirit has left her body and we're going to get it back in before they pull the plug."

Gary looked sceptical. "You're telling me that my sister is a ghost even though she isn't dead?"

Tyson nodded. "That's the jist. See, me and Kai can communicate and see them and we can tell you that Hilary's sitting beside you right now."

He looked at the space beside him and then his young eyes narrowed. "You're lying. Ghosts don't exist."

"Tell him that his Spiderman underwear is under his pillow, where he always keeps it." Hilary told Tyson.

"You're kidding?" Tyson laughed. From Hilary's glare he gathered she wasn't. "Okay. She says that you've got Spidey pants under your pillow."

Gary made a shocked expression. "I so don't."

Hilary thought for a second. "Mom still doesn't know that the reason her plants are dug up is because he was sure aliens had been planted under them."

Tyson's eyes widened. "Seriously? You dug up your mom's garden 'cause you thought aliens were there? Dude, come on."

Gary's face tightened up in anger. "She's lying!"

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Suuuure she is. Do you believe us now?"

"I don't know," he replied, looking genuinely unsure. "I guess it's possible."

"Then you'll help us?" Tyson asked.

Gary nodded and Tyson stood up form the couch and punched the air. Kai looked at him disapprovingly and frowned at Hilary who covered her mouth with a hand so she could hide her smile. Kai cleared his throat purposefully and glared at Tyson.

The bluenette sat back down gingerly and turned to Gary. "Do you remember the night Hilary went into a coma?"

"Do I ever." Gary whispered. "We thought she was already dead."

"Do you know why she left the house that evening?" He noticed the boy's hesitance and added soothingly, "this is important."

Gary drew his knees up to his chest before answering. "She was really, really mad."

"Why?" Kai demanded as he held up a voice recorder.

"I had something I shouldn't from some one who shouldn't have given me it." His eyes became full of fear. "Please, don't make me tell. He said he'll come after me if I do."

Tyson sat beside him on the couch and on top of an infuriated Hilary who began cursing his very name. He completely ignored her and put a hand on Gary's back reassuringly.

"He won't get the chance to. I promise."

The boy looked nervously from one teen the other. "It was Hilary's boyfriend. He gave me drugs to smoke and Hilary found them. I had no choice but to tell her who gave me them. She said she'd tell mom otherwise," He explained. "So she went out after him. She was going over to his house but she didn't tell anyone else where she was going. So I thought I should warn Craig since I kinda like the guy but he got really angry with me. He said if I ever told anyone that he'd given me marijuana he'd kill me." His eyes had become wider as the plot thickened in his story.

Kai frowned. "And you didn't tell the police this?"

"He said he'd kill me! Weren't you listening?" Gary looked panicked. "I shouldn't have told you."

"Kai?" Hilary said quietly.

He took no notice but continued interrogating the boy. "You did the right thing, telling us. I can go over and check Gary's place for any evidence."

"Kai?" Hilary said again, louder.

Tyson disagreed with him. "That's not a good plan at all. If he finds you there, he won't be very happy."

"Good point…."

"KAI!" Hilary screamed. "It's happening!"

The teen looked at her and saw her body begin to disappear. His heart began to beat faster, even though he understood perfectly what was happening. This may not be the same thing. What if they were cutting her off early?

"Shit!" He cursed and tried to reach out to her as her hand disappeared completely.

"What happened?" A worried and alarmed Gary asked.

"She's gone," Kai barked. "Shit, she's gone." He grabbed Tyson by the collar and dragged him off the chair. "We have to get back to HQ."

Gary followed them as they practically ran to the front door. "She's gone? What do you mean?"

Tyson stopped and bent down to his height. "She'll be back soon. But listen to me carefully. Don't tell anyone what you've told us and be careful at all times, got it?" He nodded solemnly and Tyson ruffled his hair. "Your sister's coming back, kid. Trust us."

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Back at the offices, Hilary was already waiting for them in all her ghostly glory. Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her safe and sound leaning against the reception desk, though he tried his best no to show it. He had felt very real fear when he thought she might not be coming back. The feeling had just a bout killed him in more ways than one: why did he feel this for an almost complete stranger?

"I'm glad you're safe," He mumbled and walked past her and into his office.

She followed him down the corridor and through the door. "Wait!" She called.

He did.

"I've not been completely honest with you." She lowered her eyes to the ground. "This isn't the first time I've disappeared since we met." Kai widened his eyes in alarm. "It's happened near enough every night, but no one was around. I'm sorry, I should have told you." Kai clenched his fists. "Kai? Say something."

He glared at her. "You're an idiot."

Hilary took a step back. "Wh-what?"

"Just how much do you want to wake up?" He spat, walking towards her. "Really? How much do you care? If you even do at all."

"Of course I care…"

"Well you don't show it. How the hell am I supposed to help you when you don't tell me important things like that?" He slammed his hand hard against the wall she'd backed into. "For fuck's sake, Hilary. We have four days to solve this mystery or you're history." He opened the door to walk out. "Just think about that!"

He slammed the door so hard the pens and pencils in his desk tidy rattled and shook. Hilary choked back a sob and tilted her head back to stop her from crying.

"Believe it or not, Kai," She whispered. "I do care. In more ways than you know."

Suddenly, an overwhelming pain shot through her spiritual body. She gasped as she doubled over and felt her mind leave her body.

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_She shivered in the summer night and it certainly wasn't the cold that had made her do so. No, something else. Her hand voluntarily wandered into her skirt pocket and felt the plastic bag instead. It wasn't the first time it had happened. She bit her lip as she continued to walk on through the streets. They were nearly deserted. It was eerie the way they seemed to be empty on an occasion like this. She stopped suddenly. She had the feeling she was being watched by some unknown eyes. Scanning the familiar setting, she saw nothing or no one. Despite her instincts screaming at her to turn back, she continued on. She'd walked this route hundreds of times before. Why would anything go wrong tonight._

_Then she heard footsteps behind her. Her breath caught in her throat. She made a random around a corner and she heard them do the same. Summoning up all the courage she was sure she didn't have, she spun around to face her stalker._

"_Craig!" She said with a slight hint of relief. It instantly turned to fury. "Craig!" She repeated again but harsher. "I have something that belongs to you."_

_She dug her hand into her pocket and flung the bag onto the ground at her boyfriend's feet. He glanced down at it for a split second and then returned his amused gaze to her. He cocked an eyebrow at her and she knew fine well what he was saying. It was a challenge._

"_How could you do that to my little brother? Do you think so little of me?" She hated the way her voice sounded like a little girl lost._

_Craig smirked. It was the expression of nonchalance she had fallen in love with. "Baby, of course not. But I've gotta keep my word to the people who make me and my old man so powerful. So above the law."_

"_Above the law, huh?" She sneered. "We'll see about that when I report you to the police."_

_He tutted at her. "Uh-uh, baby. This is some incriminating evidence you've got here." He faked a look of sadness. "Unfortunately, I've got to get rid of it. And the witnesses."_

_A wave of fear crushed into her as she felt a fist ram into her stomach. She gasped and doubled over onto the ground. She instantly curled up into a ball and covered her face with her hands in a futile barrier of protection as she felt blow after blow rain down upon her body and face. The pain was so intense she couldn't even cry out. She lay there motionless waiting for it to all end. Waiting for her to die. She could taste the blood in her mouth and looked up at the man she though she loved: and who loved her. One question was evident from those ruby eyes: why?_

_On the brink of sleep, she noticed Craig had stopped and watched him pick up the bag of weed. He walked over to her body and gently stroked her cheek._

"_It's over," He whispered. "Hilary."_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Hilary opened her eyes and she was back in Kai's office. She looked at the clock and relaised only a few minutes had passed. It seemed like forever. She frantically ran out of the office and down to the reception where Garnet was filing her nails.

"Garnet!" She almost screamed. "Where's Kai?"

Garnet shrugged and looked at her with concern. "He left a few minutes ago. What's wrong Hilary? Can I help?"

"I need to find Kai!" She said, adamantly.

"Try the parking lot." Garnet suggested. "You might catch him."

Hilary ran out through the walls without bothering to thank her. When she got to the car park, she scanned the area with her eyes and spotted Kai getting into his car.

"Kai!" She hollered. He turned around and watched her run towards him. "I remembered, Kai. I remembered."

He stood stationary as Hilary told him everything in her flashback, down to the very smallest detail. Once she had finished he stood still for a further few minutes as he tried to piece together the pieces of the puzzle. He'd found East's motive and, obviously, he and Rot were in cahoots. He wondered bitterly how much Roy was being paid to murder Hilary. But there was no solid connection as to why Hilary wasn't waking up when she should be. That was the missing piece of the puzzle that he'd have to find. And he knew the first place to start.

"Get it." Kai demanded as he got into the driver's side of the car and started the engine.

"Where are we going?" Hilary enquired nervously as she complied. She had seen determination on people but this was something else. He looked like a man on a mission.

"We're going to find the missing piece of the puzzle."

He revved the car up and they sped across the streets.

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Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	8. Discoveries

I am having some serious writer's block in all my stories! My apologies for those who struggle to enjoy them! I swear, I'm trying!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Discoveries

Boredom had completely taken over Hilary as she sat alone in Kai's car with the non-responsive teen staring hard in front of him. The only noise that was submitted from the still vehicle was the radio that she'd insisted be turned on, though Kai had turned it down so low she could barely hear it. In the end she had huffed and folded her arms so that it was clear she was not amused though it did her no good: he continued to stare out the windscreen.

She glanced at the car's digital clock. It was past seven. She had been sitting here for over three hours. Out of the corner of her eye, she observed Kai. His face was a mask of determination. He was obviously waiting on something but what she couldn't say. It was obviously Craig orientated but just what was he expecting?

Sighing she glanced out the passenger window and watched children playing in the park. Their laughter was now ringing out through the air and she felt a small smile creep upon her face. It was infectious. She had always loved kids. They had always loved her. No matter how foul a mood she was in, a child could always take her away from it. It was a feat especially mastered by her little brother and sister.

Her brother and sister…

That lonely feeling she'd gotten so well acquainted with crept up on her. Would she ever be able to hug them again? It was a gesture that had been taken for granted when she was still capable of doing so. The answer, Kai would tell her, was yes. But was it really? Could he actually do it?

A single tear ran down her cheek and she turned away so Kai wouldn't see. Not that he'd notice anyway. She inwardly scolded herself. Why does she care what he thinks so badly? It enraged her so. Why did she trust him? Why, why, why? So many questions raced through her head without any answers.

_Because you love him._

Hilary felt a sharp intake of breath. It surely wasn't that. No. It couldn't be. It wasn't plausible. It wasn't _possible_. Yet she knew anything was possible. Hell, if he could somehow think up of some kind of miracle to stop her from dieing she would admit that she could, as unlikely as it was, love him.

_I could die_.

The sheer instant realisation made her sit completely upright. It was a thought she'd pushed into the back of her head ever since she had found out that truth. She didn't want to die. No one wanted to die. She shook her head viciously. She wasn't going to. _Kai_ wouldn't let her. And when she was back in her body again, she was going to go home and cuddle her siblings to death.

"Jesus, what's wrong with you?" Kai asked as he watched Hilary shake her head violently. He had a look of utter confusion on his face.

"I…uh…saw a fly and I thought it went in my hair."

Kai cocked an eyebrow. "Flies can't go in your hair."

"I forgot."

Shaking his head slightly, he regained his favoured position and Hilary was left to her thoughts again. She looked at the clock. It read ten past seven.

This would be a long, long night.

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An eternity later, the clock was lying by saying it had only been four hours, there was some movement as a single red sports car drove out of the apartment block's car park. Kai had recognised it as East's car. It was the same one that he'd drove in with earlier on in the evening. He started the ignition and began to follow it, keeping his head lights dipped and quite a distant back. Luckily, the night's darkness granted them cover and they could hopefully follow him without being discovered. He didn't know exactly what he was hoping for, but it was the only thing he could think of doing. Hilary had four days left to live, including tonight, unless he could save her. His knuckles turned white where they gripped the steering wheel. He had to save her. He didn't know why, for sure, but he knew that without her his life wouldn't be the same.

"Why is he driving all the way out here?" He heard Hilary mutter as East turned into the area beside the harbour.

_Good question, _he thought. _Just_ _why was he out here? More importantly, is it legit?_

"We'll stop here," Kai informed Hilary as he pulled the car over beside the fence that surrounded the whole harbour area. "There's less chance of us being discovered if I leave my car as far away as possible."

Hilary floated out of the car and walked beside Kai. When they came to the fence, he'd climbed over it within seconds.

"I didn't know you were so athletic!" Hilary said as she walked through it.

"Hn." He grunted as he looked around the area. There was no one about. The only thing that told them there was any activity going on in the area was the fact that over in a very large warehouse a bright light shone through every window.

Making sure he kept to the shadows, he sprinted to the building and knelt down on the ground. In order to get in, he would need to climb through a window: the door would be far too obvious. Though, he sensed there wouldn't be much security.

"Hilary?" He whispered. "I need you to scout the perimeter for any open windows, okay?"

"Sure," She replied and ran around the side of the building. A few minutes later she had come back. "There're open windows on the far side and they're on the ground level so you can climb in easily." He nodded curtly and stood up with his back to her. She held a clenched fist to her chest. "I don't like this, Kai. Not one bit. What if some one finds you? How will you protect yourself?" Kai kept walked away from her. "Kai!" She yelled and ran in front of him. "Do you wanna end up like me?"

Kai stopped and looked at her in her vindictive stance. And he smiled. "For you, it's worth it." He walked through her speechless being. "If something happens to me, I trust you to act accordingly."

She nodded dumbly and walked on behind him until they came to the window she had mentioned earlier. Kai hoisted himself up and over the pane and found himself in what looked like a supply room and waited for Hilary to come through the wall. With Hilary checking every corridor to make sure it was clear, they made their way through the vast warehouse. Kai could smell the distinctive scent of metal through as they journeyed onwards: a direct result of the fact that every wall was made of it. The floor was the only thing that wasn't: it had been cemented.

"Just what are we hoping to find, anyway?" Hilary asked.

Kai remained silent.

"So you don't know, then?"

There were voices coming from a door to their left and Kai pointed at the door as a sign for Hilary to check it out. She stuck her head through it and looked around. There were only a handful of men there. They looked rough and pretty mean. Amongst them was a cool looking East and a Doctor Roy who looked agitated and panicked. She pulled herself back and informed Kai before going in to listen to what they had to say.

"I'm telling you, East. We need to get the job done sooner," The good doctor pleaded. "What if they take blood samples? They'll find out that we've been drugging her!"

East sneered at him. "_We_?" He repeated. "I think you'll find that it was entirely your idea. I merely supplied the funding. Besides, any sooner and the officials will get more suspicious than what they already are."

"We could go to prison if we're caught!" He persisted.

"Again, what's this 'we' business?" East put an almost caring hand on the doctor's shoulder. "If anything comes out into the open, it'll be you who takes the fall." He smiled confidently. "But let's not get into that. The point is, on Friday this will all be over and we can move in with our lives." He gestured at the other men in the room. "And we can all begin business again."

"Business?" Roy said, mockingly. "Your_ father_ is the businessman. He would never have dealt in such scandalous-"

The younger man waved a warning finger in front of him. "Uh-uh-uh." He turned his back and looked outside the window. "I'd watch what you say about me and my old man." His head turned just enough for Roy to see the glint in his eye. "I learned from the best."

Hearing enough, Hilary returned to the other side of the door where Kai has been watching her intently. He quickly walked away, making sure Hilary was following him, until they were far enough to talk without being overheard. Hilary then explained what had been said.

Kai said nothing for a few seconds but let out a gasp of air and ran a hand through the back of his hair, never taking that intense look off of Hilary's face.

"…We need to find out more." He said eventually.

Hilary nodded. "I thought you'd say that. I don't see why though. We've heard everything there is to hear."

"_You_ have. And I'm sure that'll stand up well in court." She rolled her eyes at his undeniable logic. "We'll start by checking the rooms that are unoccupied."

"There are only a few of them. Rooms, I mean." Hilary said.

"We'll need to find one that has a filing system," He carried on as if he hadn't taken into account what she'd said. "I'm guessing East's cocky enough to keep evidence about this whole incident and if there's anything to be found, it'll be here in some sort of admin room or even a supplies room. That means we'll keep searching."

"Uh, Kai." Hilary ventured. "What about the door behind you that says 'Files'?"

Kai turned around and saw that she was right. "Yeah, that might do." He replied. annoyed that he'd missed something so obvious that caused her to have such a smug look on her face. He was about to say something about it, but thought better of it under the circumstances.

Hilary checked the room and gave it the all clear for Kai to come in. Once he did so, he turned on the light and noted his surroundings. It was a fairly small room with a computer, once filing cupboard and a wooden desk that still have some writing implements on it. He ran a finger over the wood and observed it. There was no dust so this room was still in use. Opening up the filing cabinet, he quickly ran through the files and groaned inwardly. There were all shipping quotas from the harbour and were about as useful to him as a broken match. He slammed the drawer shut in frustration. Then he moved on to the computer. Some one had already turned it on all he had to do was switch on the power in the monitor. Once he did so, the traditional East Computer's desktop flashed before him and Kai growled. It was as East was rubbing this whole thing in his face.

"There's a folder saying 'Hilary'!" The girl pointed at the screen excitedly.

Kai double clicked on the icon and he quickly scanned through all the files: from newspaper clippings to medical reports. And also e-mails from Doctor Roy.

_To: Craig East _

_From: Dr. A. Roy _

_Subject: Hilary  
_

_Mr. East,_

_The subject fore mentioned is in a stable condition and if undue action is not taken then I fear she will awaken in the near future with only her flesh wounds. There are no mental problems discovered thus far and I, in all honesty, don't see us discovering any form of brain damage. Staff are optimistic that she will awaken within any day._

_Please respond promptly,_

_Roy_

Kai didn't dare risk a look at Hilary. That e-mail was from June the sixteenth. Today was June twenty-fifth. That meant that Hilary could possibly have been awake a over a week ago if there had been no foul play. He hastily opened the next one.

_To: Craig East _

_Subject: Hilary _

_Mr. East,_

_I have started Hilary's medication. I have also taken full responsibility of her case and will continue to do so until I can get permission and correct justification to end her life. I would request that you keep supplying me with the henziodiamenzyne to keep her comatose until then._

_A. Roy_

"Henziodiamenzyne?" Kai muttered asked. "I've never heard of it." He opened the latest file sent only yesterday.

_To: Craig East  
_

_ From: Dr. A. Roy __  
_

_Mr. East,_

_This is rather urgent. We must meet as soon as possible. I have a very bad feeling. Today, I found two medical students in Hilary's room who very a little too adamant that Hilary be given more time to recover. When I asked my colleague's about them, I was told that there were no students in for another few weeks. People are on to us. I don't know if we can keep her in a coma until Friday, East._

_A. Roy_

"I'm being _kept_ in a coma?" Hilary said, her voice was filled with disgust. "They've _made_ me like this?"

"Calm down!" Kai hissed as he inserted a floppy disk into the disk drive and made a copy of all the files on the computer.

"Calm down?" Hilary demanded as he put it into his pocket without taking much notice of her. "Calm down? Don't you tell me to calm down! People who are supposed to be trusted have _drugged_ me Kai! They wanna kill me!" Her eyes narrowed. "I know what it is. You just don't care, do you? You don't give a shit 'cause once I die that's me out of your hair forever and you never have to see me again!"

"NO!" Kai almost shouted. "No," he said again more calmly. "That's not true at all. I do care, Hilary. I care so much you wouldn't believe it. _I _don't even believe it. But now's not the time, okay? We can talk later. Once all this is over."

She looked at him in shock. Did he just say that he cared? A smiled crept up on her face and she lowered her eyes to the floor. When she brought them back up there were almost tears in her eyes. Until she looked past him.

"Kai! Behind you!" She screamed as one of the men from the room approached him with a baseball bat.

Kai made to turn around but was greeted with a swift and hard blow to the back of his neck and the last thing he thought before darkness had claimed him for his own was: _I blew it._

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Just to let you know, the drug I used in this chapter is completely made up since I didn't actually want to use a real one. I don't know why, but I just didn't.

Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	9. Saving You, Saving Me

I think I'm out of my block! Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Saving You, Saving Me

Hilary ran as fast as her legs could carry her down the empty streets of L.A in the early hours of the morning. It was almost pitch black except for the occasional dim lit street lamp until she had passed was out of the harbour area completely. Thankfully, she didn't have any need for oxygen or she'd never had made it out of the warehouse and she could keep running. The only problem was, apart from the fact that Kai was now lying unconscious somewhere, was the fact that she didn't know her way back to the Paranormal Psychiatrists. Still, she kept running on, passing familiar sites as she went. If she could at least make it to Craig's apartment, then she could find her way to her house and then to PP. But how long would it take?

So many thought raced through her head as she continued her high speed journey: was Kai safe; what where they doing to him; would they kill him; would they kill her? The only way to get any of these questions answered was to find some one, anyone, who could help her. Out of the whole entire population of Los Angeles, she knew that so far she'd only met a handful of people who could see her, never mind help her. But she had to do it for Kai. They cared about him as much as she did, they'd know what to do. They _had_ to. There was no other choice unless she wanted to spend an eternity with the guilt of not being able to save the man she loved.

There it was again. The man she loved. It was still ridiculous to think about. How on earth could she love him? He was a stranger to her, she was a stranger to him. It didn't make any sense what so ever. Yet stranger things had happened. This whole situation, for example. Who'd ever had though she could come back as a semi ghost? Not even a real ghost, but a fake one. A poser of the spiritual world. The Zeppo of the otherworld beings.

She was now passing Craig's apartment. Even at night, they still radiated superiority to those buildings around it. The entire block was still gently lit by overheard lights on each outer landing so much so that she thought it compared to something out of a picturesque suburb she commonly saw in television adverts or T.V shows where the star lives in the lap of luxury. It made her sick to think he could live in almost complete happiness while her entire world was falling apart in an avalanche of despair. Well, perhaps despair was too strong a word. There was still hope for her, she knew, in the form of Kai Hiwatari. That is if she could get to him in time lest he shared the same fate as her.

Finally, she came to an area she was more familiar with. It was the same street she had last been on when she was still in her body. It was the same street where she had confronted Craig. It may very well be the last street she'll ever walk again. But that meant that she wasn't too far now. Another half hour, perhaps. She could only hope Kai would last that long.

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Mariah paced the reception hallway, her entire from amassed with anxiety. She looked at the clock behind the desk once again. It was one o'clock in the morning and Kai still hadn't turned up nor contacted them with his whereabouts. He was a dead man when she saw him next, make no doubts about it. How could he do this to her, his very own cousin? The only family member he had that actually gave a damn about him and he's away gallivanting with ghosts without telling her? Just what on earth was he thinking? That was the very problem here. He wasn't thinking. It had been evident as soon as Hilary had shown up. She'd done something to him: for worst or best, she wasn't sure. He had become irrational and foolish when he used to be cool headed and level. Or maybe her mind was saying things that she just didn't mean.

Gentle arms wrapped themselves around her body to stop her from her endless circling of the hallway. She felt the tension drain away from her as she turned and wrapped her own arms around Ray's strong and warm body. He didn't say anything as he knew words would be useless. Nothing would consol Mariah until Kai was safe and sound: it was almost like a maternal love on her part. It was odd, this strange protection they all seemed to have of each other. They were the social misfits that no one had realised were misfits, except each other. Maybe that explained this inexplicable bond?

"Do you hear that?" Mariah asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her hands tightened around Ray's body slightly.

Ray tuned his ears to whatever ominous sound it was that Mariah had picked up and recognised the screams of a girl their age. And if he wasn't mistaken it sounded uncannily like Hilary. As if right on cue, Hilary ran through the locked door and halted suddenly.

"Guys!" She cried. "I can't believe I finally made it back here!"

"Geez, Hilary!" Mariah said and placed a hand on her heart. "Where have you been and where's Kai?"

"He's at the harbour. They found him, Craig and Roy, and he's unconscious. We have to help him!"

"Calm down," Ray made a shushing motion with his hand. "Now, tell us from the beginning what happened."

Hilary did so and filled them in on everything they had discovered that evening, including her flashback. She told them how she was being kept in a comatose state and how Kai was now in desperate need of their help. After she had finished, Mariah almost burst into tears but kept strong, none the less, and ran to the living quarters to assemble everyone else, explaining they needed a plan of action. Ray stayed with Hilary, assuring her every so often that everything would be alright. Kai was a strong guy after all, he told her, and he'd be damned if he went down without a fight.

"Well, he kinda did," Hilary pointed out.

"So we heard Kai's in a bit of a jam?" An unshaven looking Tala enquired as he walked came through the door that led to the upper level.

Garnet, who was right behind him, let out a massive yawn and wiped at the bags that were forming underneath her eyes. "I hope he's happy. I'm missing my beauty sleep." Her face then looked concerned. "I've just had an awful thought. If he dies, how do we get paid?" The room full of teens stared at her in disbelief and she chuckled nervously. "Obviously I'm kidding. We'll just use his credit card."

Tyson hit Garnet on the shoulder as he walked past her. "We need to get a plan."

"I've got one already!" Kenny piped up from behind his laptops screen. "There doesn't seem to be too much security based on what I've hacked into, so basically we just go in and get him out. Easy."

"Can you elaborate on that?" Max asked.

"Sure. Hilary, you would remember the layout of the harbour, wouldn't you?" She nodded. "Well, since you don't need to worry about anyone catching you, you can search the place until you find where Kai is. Then you get, let's say…Tala and he can sneak in, get Kai out and we're home free."

"That sounds a little too simple…" Tala murmured to no one in particular.

"That's the beauty of it!" Kenny assured. "Besides, we don't have the means to concoct some S.W.A.T mission. Nor do we have any form of weaponry. So I say, let's just keep it basic."

Tala smiled wryly. "You are the brains…"

Kenny closed his computer over and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Of course I am."

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Kai's head felt as if it had been ran over several times by a truck or some other heavy vehicle. He slowly opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. The feeling of his senses awakening made his head protest and painfully too. He winced as he sat up against the wall behind him and he assessed his surroundings. He seemed to be in a storage room of some sorts: though it was hard to tell as the only light in the room was the light from the moon which shone through the barred window to the side of him. However, the only thing being stored in there was himself. It was small: barely big enough for him to lie lengthways. The balls of his feet touched the walls opposite him and when he spread his arms out he could feel the wall and the door on either side of him. Knowing it would prove to be pointless, he tried the handle of the door but, just as he expected, it was locked from the outside. Feeling the area around the handle, he felt his heart sink even further. The lock couldn't even be picked since they'd decided to nail a metal sheet into the keyhole. Brilliant. Escape would probably prove to be difficult.

Angrily, he slammed his fist onto the cold concrete flooring. How had he been so stupid, so reckless? There was no one to blame but himself. He had known the risk. He had known that he would have to be on his guard. He had known, yet he hadn't listened to himself. And now, for all he knew, East would be halfway to L.A Regent to give Hilary a one way ticket out of the hospital with her vehicle of choice being a long wooden box. If there was one thing he wanted right now, it was just to see her face: her laugh that rang like a bell she was happy; the glint in her eye when she had an idea; the way she seemed to have a secret smile for his eyes only. Even to hear her voice- that sweet resounding melody- would be good enough for him.

"Kai?" He could hear her say from outside.

God. Now he was hallucinating. Just how hard had he been hit? He felt the tender lump on the back of his head. Pretty hard. Or maybe they'd given him something. Was it very possible he was high?

"Kai, it's Hilary! Answer me!"

High as a kite.

He closed his eyes and leant against the wall as she continued to call for him. It seemed he had two choices: ignore it and hope that he stops fantasising or play along. He chose the latter.

"Hil?" He said, cautiously.

"Kai!" He heard her say back, sounding relieved. She popped her head through the wall and then entered it, her face instantly lighting up. He though she looked real enough, or as real as could be. "Thank god you're alright! I wish I could hug you right now!" She knelt in front of him. "Are you hurt?"

"Just my head."

"Well, we'll get that seen too, but first you need to get out of here. Tala's waiting for me." She ran out of the make shift prison hollering back that she'd return soon.

Kai watched the space where she'd just been in intently as if he could make her reappear again and hopefully this time with help in the form a strong, red headed Russian. Though how he was planning on getting him out of here, he wasn't sure. Perhaps Tala could pick the lock from the other side? It wouldn't be the first time they'd done something like that. When they were younger, Kai and Tala used to break into cars all the time and take them for a joyride. Then, they had used bent paper clips to jimmy the lock open and then the rest was simple. A matter of rewiring blue to red and they were off.

"Kai, you in there?" The deep voice of Tala said through the wall.

"Yeah," Kai replied. "And I hope you remember our carjacking days because I think those little skills are going to come in handy right now."

Tala smirked as he remembered the memories from when they had been younger. If they could break into a car merely by picking the lock, this would be child's play. "How could I forget?" He chuckled softly as he delved into his pocket for something he could use to catch the locking mechanism. Producing his lucky paper clip which he'd had since back in the day, he began to manoeuvre the catch. It had been a while, and that was evident by the length of time it was taking. "I'm going to guess you've tried this already?" Another failed attempt.

"Well, I figured you'd like to get out Ol' Clippy again." Kai laughed. "But seriously, these guys are well prepared. They've covered the hole with a metal strip so I can't get into it."

"Those bastards," Tala said as he felt the catch finally give way. He pushed the handle and the door successfully swung open. "Voila." He extended a hand to Kai and helped haul him up.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"Anytime," He looked around him suspiciously. "I think we should get the hell out of here before some one sees us."

"I second that motion," Hilary agreed and they all began to run out of the building with Hilary acting as a guard, though, strangely enough, the place seemed to be deserted. Rather than voice her concern, she decided to let it lie. So long as they all managed to get out safely, why bother with such trivial things? The chances were that the longer they stayed there debating, the more chance they had of some one coming back.

They didn't stop running until they reached Kai and Tala's cars. Mariah, Garnet, Ray and Max were waiting patiently for his return and as soon as the girls saw them, they almost knocked the wind out of him, demanding a hug to make sure he was actually there. He gingerly hugged them back and nodded to the boys as they asked if he was alright. Insisting that they wasted no more time, Kai ordered everyone to get into a car and go back home. This place, he said, was giving him the jitters.

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Kai took a long drink of his coffee and listened as everyone argued over what step to take next. This, at three o'clock in the morning, was not the right way to go about it and at any minute, he was going to crack. Everyone was tired and cranky so debating right now wasn't the best of ideas. No. It was the worst thing imaginable. But he'd let them have a few minutes longer to calm their nerves. After all, they had a lot to be nervous about. They only had three days to save Hilary and they'd completely run out of ideas. What they needed was an epiphany. Secondly, East knew that they, or more to the point, Kai, knew all about him and Hilary. Or at least the whole thing was a set-up. Now, they were a little nervous, to say the least, about what was going to happen to them. If East decided to take action, to shut them up, what would happen.

That was the part of the conversation Kai heard when he zoned in again. Annoyed he slammed his coffee down onto the table of the common room. "I'm only going to say this once." He shut his eyes. "Will everyone _please_ just shut up and go to bed." There were several outraged looks on people's faces. He didn't need to open his eyes to be able to tell that. His voice tactfully softened. "We're all tired, okay. Now is not a good time to think up a plan or get into petty arguments. Let's just go to bed, get some sleep and we can worry about it in the morning when we're able to focus more." No one moved. "And that's an order from your boss."

Begrudgingly, everyone trooped off into their separate bedrooms and some doors were slammed shut at their boss's tone. He finished off his coffee quickly and put it in the sink. He could worry about washing it tomorrow. His eyes seemed to be taking over themselves and he was fighting every part of them to keep them open long enough for him to brush his teeth and climb into his bed. That plan didn't seem to work, though, as before he could even think about getting into the bathroom, he was stopped by Hilary. She looked so fragile and timid. Gently, he smiled at her.

"Is something wrong?" His voice was so coaxing, it almost astounded him.

She sighed a little and then looked up into his eyes. "I just want to let you know, that I'm grateful for everything you guys are doing for me and I'll understand if you wanna give up. In fact, I'd rather you did that put your own lives in danger." She smiled softly at him, her eyes shining in earnest. "Honestly."

"Well, even if everyone else does give in, I won't." Kai said.

Hilary shook her head as if it was all confusing her. "But, why?"

Kai swallowed hard. "I…don't know. I just…don't know." He shoved his hands in his pockets and went inside the bathroom, leaving Hilary standing outside though he knew that she could come in anytime if she wanted. He knew this real reason is because he didn't want to know what life would be like without her, but he could never tell her that. No matter what, he'd keep that to himself. His little secret.

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Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	10. Kai's Epiphany

Hey guys! I have to admit, I quite liked this chapter. It started off a bit iffy but I think it picked up towards the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Kai's Epiphany 

Three was the number of beats in a bar of a waltz. Three was the number in the Holy Trinity. Three was the longest time Garnet had gone without make-up. Three was the number drilling Kai's head: three was the number of days Hilary had left. Three, three, three. It would all be over in three days, three! They had so little time left without any foundations of a plan, no idea on where to go next. Never before in his whole life had he been so frustrated nor felt so helpless. There was another element that added to this feeling of helplessness and that was in the form of Craig East. He knew that Kai was more than well informed of his scheme, his little plot, and should he decided to take action…It didn't bear to think about. All Kai could do was to move on as if East was none the wiser. Dwelling on it would get him nowhere, which he was sure of. But he wasn't the only one that had issues with it. None of his friends would voice this opinion outwardly, but Kai knew them well enough to know that they felt this way. Anything that happened would be blamed on Kai. And, really, who could blame them? If he'd been a little less rash and alerted them _before_ he went to the harbour it was very possible they wouldn't be in this predicament.

"Let's not worry about it," Garnet had suggested moments before leaving to visit her parents, accompanied by Tala, in a quest to clear her head. She would be more use to them once she had had a break.

_If only it were that easy, _Kai had thought in reply. It wasn't that easy. He was responsible should anything go wrong. It would be on his conscience. And on top of that, he had Hilary to worry about. Death was right at her doorstep and on Friday that bell would be chiming. Unless he could find a way to disconnect the buzzer…

"Kai," Hilary said, softly. "I think you should go out for a while, too. Sitting here racking our brains out isn't going to help, you know. Take a break."

Kai stared at her hard for a few seconds before finally caving in. At least if he _pretended_ not to think about it, she would be satisfied. "Alright everyone," he said to his assembly of employees. "We'll take a half hour break. Do what you want, but be back here in a half." He was about to leave the room when he thought of something else. "And if you _do _feel a need to go out, for God's sake don't go alone."

Tyson stared after him haughtily as he left with Hilary. "He's got a cheek to talk! Shouldn't one of us go with them?"

Mariah shook her head softly. "No, I think we should let them be alone. I don't wanna be pessimistic but this may be the last chance they have to be together. There's always a chance that we don't wake Hilary up." She let out a soft sigh and cuddled into Ray. "He's seemed to change since he met her. Since he fell in love with her."

"Who'd have thought Kai could have fallen in love so soon?" Max agreed. "I bet he'll never admit it though. He's probably not even admitted it to himself!" Chuckling, he went on, "I can imagine him arguing with his own mind about it!"

"I think they're right for each other," Ray commented. "They've had some connection from day one. And Hilary told us herself it was _Kai's_ office she kept appearing in, right? It's fate." Tyson sniggered at this. "Oh, come on Tyson. How can you deny that? There're obviously greater powers at work here. Let's face it; Kai's gave a hell of a lot into saving people. It's about time they saved him!"

"Hear, hear!" Mariah said and raised her glass of water. "To Kai and Hilary! May one day they be given the ability to get over themselves and admit their undying love for each other!" She looked at her watch. "Hmm…we have twenty five minutes. Wanna go out for a bit?" The other's readily agreed and the group of five left the building.

* * *

"I've said this before," Hilary said as she strolled beside Kai. They were walking around the small park around the corner from PP. "You don't need to keep helping me. Not if it's putting you in danger. I'll gladly accept death."

Kai stopped and closed his eyes, leaning on the park railing where they could both watch the children playing on the swings climbing frames. "I won't gladly let you accept death."

"Why?" She asked. "You never told me but I wanna know." In the background, during the silence, children were laughing and screaming at each other. It didn't fit the mood. "Please?"

"When we get through this, I'll tell you." He promised her, opening his eyes to show his sincerity. A promise to Kai Hiwatari was a promise. "But only then."

"Then we better get through this!" Hilary exclaimed. They were both quite for a while as they watched the children frolic and their frantic parents case after them in a bid to calm them down. Sighing to herself silently, Hilary couldn't help but feel that pang of loneliness again. Desperate to avoid it, she thought of something to talk to Kai about. "What's the scariest ghost you've ever had to deal with?"

Kai seemed a bit surprised by this sudden and unexpected question. Smirking, he said, "So you like scary stories, huh?" Hilary smiled and nodded. "I never expected that." He leaned away from the post, still holding on to it, with his head towards the heaven as he tried to think if the most terrifying encounter. There had been many, but narrowing them down to a single one was quite a mission: plus he still wanted to seem manly to her. "I think the time I've been most afraid of a ghost was when we first started out. A couple came in asking for our help in getting rid of a spirit they claimed to be haunting their house. The money was great for starting out, so I readily agreed. I took Tala with me and we went up to this seriously creepy house. It was huge and looked to be from the nineteenth century. From the first moment stepping into that house, I had a really bad feeling about it but, as any guy trying to show bravado, I dismissed it. Things happened in that house while we were there but to cut a long story short, we were unsuccessful and went home.

"It wasn't until we got back that we realised something was amiss. There was, like, an aura surrounding us and later on, we discovered that the spirit had followed us and had set base in Paranormal Psychiatrists. Naturally, we were spooked. We had no idea what to do. We researched into the ghost and discovered it was a serial killer from that era so I guess that didn't help us much. So we were stuck with this poltergeist and no idea how to get rid of it. It was completely tearing up the place: throwing stuff, locking us out, it tried to shove Garnet down the stairs once or twice. The final straw came when I went into Mariah's room and found her suspended from the ceiling with a rope around her neck. We barely got her down in time, but then we said enough was enough."

"I'd heard storied about excorcisms being carried out on malevolent spirits before, but I had no idea how to carry one out myself or even what branch to look at. I wasn't a Christian, so I couldn't carry out a holy one-"

"There's different types of exorcisms?" Hilary asked.

Kai nodded. "There's loads but you never really know unless you look into them. For example there's Holy, Voodoo, Pagan, hundreds. So we eventually settled on the Voodoo which involved getting an item belonging to the ghost, an old photograph or illustration and red brick powder. I won't go into the actual ritual but while we were doing it, the spirit came out and began to completely shake the entire building. I mean the floorboards were rattling and everything. I thought that I was honestly going to die if this was unsuccessful. Then, moments before the ritual was complete, it brandished a knife and came at me with it." He sniggered. "If there's one thing I never wanna do again, it's fight with a ghost. It took all my strength to keep it from slashing my throat. Luckily, Garnet had the smarts to take over from where I left off and we were able to banish him."

"Wow," Hilary said. "I didn't know that your Gift was that dangerous. Have you carried out many exorcisms?" She leaned in closer, clearly interested.

"A few, but we tend not to if we can help it. We have no idea were the people go, so it's not so good on your conscience afterwards." He shrugged. "Besides, getting the items you need can be a bitch." The alarm on his phone went off in his pocket and he took it out to turn it off. "It's about time we got back. The others will be expecting us."

"Right."

The left the children and their families to their festivities in the park and journeyed back the route they came. Hilary hadn't really noticed just how beautiful this neighbourhood actually was. The place was immaculate and the air even seemed fresher. She smiled. It seemed the grass _was_ always greener on the other side. Was it just her, or did the sky seem bluer too? Or maybe it was just her mood. Today, she felt happy. Really happy. So happy that she could just the nearest person and hug them to death. She was happy because she knew come Friday, she would be able to. She had faith in Kai. He would find a way. She was certain of it.

Kai caught sight of her bright smile as he walked up the stairs to the entrance of his offices. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you smiling at?" His voice came out a lot merrier than he'd intended it too but seeing her smile made him want to do the same.

"I'm just happy," Hilary said, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, "Because I know that I'll be awake in three days and the first thing I'm gonna do is bear hug everyone and the first person I'm gonna bear hug is you!" She pointed a ghostly finger at him in emphasis but to her surprise, he smirked; she'd expected him to roll his eyes or even turn away from her.

"Is that the only thing you and I are going to do?" He asked with a slight mysterious lilt to his voice.

"Why, Kai Hiwatari?" She asked innocently. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

He took a step closer to her. "Maybe we should pick up where we left off on that fateful Saturday night?" The smirk on his face deepened.

She froze. The tone in his voice that told her he was only teasing, wanting to see what her reaction would be but having no intention of following it up. But there was something in his eyes that told her that wasn't the case. She decided to play along. That way she'd suit both outcomes. "We'll just have to wait and see!" She smiled seductively, or what she hoped was seductively.

Still smirking, Kai took his key out to open the door to the offices but stopped abruptly. From inside, he could hear a distinct bleeping sound that didn't sound like any of the electronics he personally owned or installed within the premises. He frowned and leaned in closer towards the door, trying to cipher where the steady, shrill beeps were coming from.

"What's wrong?" Hilary asked, leaning in also in a bid to find out the problem. "Want me to look inside?"

"I…don't know," He replied, at a loss. As he listened closer, he could hear the beeping pick up in tempo. Suddenly, it started to sound familiar, like a memory long since past. Then it dawned on him what that noise was. He'd never experienced one face to face but he'd watched enough movies to know. "Shit! It's a-"

There was an almighty explosion and Kai felt a burning heat knock him flying into the air. The wind was knocked out of him as he landed roughly on the hard concrete pavement. On his face, he could feel a warm liquid streaming down it. His vision was blurred and it took him a second to regain his senses; he could hear the crackle of fire and the sound of a girl screaming beside him; his nose picked up the distinguishable scent of fire; he could see the steady stream of grey smoke and orange, red flames but he couldn't put them into place. It took him the feeling of being flung through the air in memory to snap him back to reality. He stood up immediately in alert panic. Had his friends been in there? There was very real fear in his eyes as he scanned the burning building in front of him. If they had been, they certainly weren't making it out now.

"Son?" A woman asked him, her young face showing concern for the stranger before her. "Are you alright? The fire brigade has been called for, they'll be here shortly." She studied him carefully. "You should sit down."

He roughly grabbed hold of her arms and shook her. "Did they get out?" His voice was full of the same dread that showed in his eyes which were as burning as the fire itself.

"Wh-what?" She asked timidly and gasped in pain as she was interrogated again.

"Kai!" Hilary shouted, standing in the woman's position so it was her Kai was directly looking at. "Stop it!"

Her ruby eyes penetrated his trance and he let go of the woman who once again tried to get him to sit down. He did so, but it was with an air of despair. He stared stonily as his establishment, the one he'd sweated over and worked so hard to build up, was shot down in flames. From the distance he could hear the fire engine approach and park just beside him, men jumping out and beginning to attack the fire with jets of water. All Kai would do was watch helplessly as Hilary tried to assure him it would be alright. He wasn't so sure. If anything _had_ happened to any of his friends – his family- it would be his entire fault.

* * *

"Tyson!" Mariah screamed at the inane bluenette as he took another slurp out his coke and mixed it in with the half chewed burger already in his mouth. "Kai's gonna kill us if we're late!" She pulled on his hand to pull him off the stool at the burger bar where he sat. "You can finish eating while we're walking back." 

Tyson pouted and remained parked on his backside. "I'll get indigestion."

"That'll be the least of your problems if you make us late!" Ray warned him and took his other hand. With hardly any effort at all, Tyson was pulled on to his feet. Max grabbed Tyson's burger and Kenny his coke. "We have five minutes to get back!" He and his girlfriend dragged Tyson out of the burger place, whining all the way.

Giving in, Tyson snatched his food from Max and Kenny and walked on ahead of them, his grumbles clearly audible in the air. They were within a block of Paranormal Psychiatrists when they could sense something was seriously wrong. They could see a large crowd gathered outside the set of buildings PP belonged too, among whom they could see were firemen, still blasting at the buildings with a massive hose. In the sky above, there were still the remnants of smoke in the air, marring the clear blueness with a dull grey. In the air was also the crispness that came with a fire, the smell that stung the nose whenever you breathed. Exchanging worried glances with each other, the five teenagers raced towards their home, hoping nothing bad had happened to it or, more importantly, Kai.

Mariah let out a sigh of relief as she caught sight of her older cousin being comforted by Hilary on the sidewalk. His clothes were charred and his face was bleeding but apart from that, he seemed to be alright. "Kai!" She yelled at him.

On hearing the sound of his name, Kai stood up and turned around. The feeling of relief that smothered him was indescribable, but the girl who did so wasn't. She squeezed him tightly, making sure he was actually there and not a ghost, though that still wouldn't tell her the difference.

He squeezed her back just as tightly. "I'm so glad you guys are alright." He whispered to her. "If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd have done."

"What happened?" Max asked as he assessed the damage done to their home. He gingerly kicked at the doorknob which was once a part of their huge front door.

Kai shook his head solemnly. "East obviously wanted to retaliate and planted a bomb within the offices. His intention clearly was destroying more than the building." He shook his head again, this time with disbelief. "It's a miracle no one was hurt." He stopped talking as a fireman came over to them looking apologetic, his head kept to the ground as if he was paying respects to them all.

"I'm afraid the entire first floor had been wiped out. It's gonna cost a helluva lot of money to get this place refurbished. I hope you have insurance." He looked up at Kai who made no reaction. "The good news is that the upper floor is still liveable, providing you don't mind walking through a barbecued staircase to get there." Taking his helmet off, he looked up at the elegant looking building. From the outside, it the only evidence that anything had happened was that the lower windows had been completely smashed and charred around the sides. "The building's obviously made of strong stuff to still be standing after and explosion like that, or you're all favoured by the God's. What is clear, though, is that some one did obviously not want you to survive. I don't know what the hell it is you guys are all mixed up with but if I were you I'd watch your backs a little bit more carefully from now on."

"Thank you, sir." Was all Kai had to say.

Regarding the teens with a look of extreme interest that he wasn't willing to pursue, the man took his leave and joined his firemen buddies as they climbed back into the engine after having a brief chat with the policemen who had arrived to question everyone involved in the scene.

"We do have insurance, right?" Tyson asked Kai.

"Yeah."

"Are we going to still live here?"

"You tell me."

They were all silent for a few moments before Ray offered to contact the other two and let them know what happened. Mariah went with him, leaving Hilary, Max, Tyson and Kenny alone with a deflated looking Kai.

"You should probably get your head looked at," Hilary suggested softly. "It might get infected if you don't."

"Hn." Kai grunted. "That's the least of our worries."

"Have you though anymore about Friday?" Kenny asked, trying to change the conversation to something just as morbid.

Kai said nothing for a few seconds making Kenny believe he hadn't been heard but as he went to repeat his question, Kai interrupted. "I have an idea. In fact, it's just came to me a few seconds ago." He looked at his gathered friends with a sense of conviction. "It's a little bit crazy, but it just might work." Turning to Hilary, he almost stunned her with the way his eyes were blazing. "When was the last time you disappeared?"

Bewilderment mixed with curiosity crossed her face as she cast her mind back. "Roughly a day ago."

"And you've gotten these everyday before that?" Their boss was obviously getting roused up by whatever it was that was going through his complex mind.

"Yeah, I think. Why?"

Kai smirked, his eyes coming to life like a phoenix rising from the ashes. "Because it's time for us to fight back. I've had an epiphany.

* * *

Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	11. Accepting Fate

I have to say, I'm pretty damn pleased with this chapter! I do believe it's my finest yet! I hope the outcome isn't too disappointing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade!  


Accepting Fate

Dr. Roy sat down in his office, all too aware of the huge weight being strapped onto his shoulders. He went over the schedule for tomorrow for the tenth time since he had received it that hour. The nurse handing him it had did so reluctantly, just like the other nurses had reluctantly agreed to help him in the involuntary euthanasia of Hilary Tatibana. Some had claimed it 'wasn't right' or that it was 'unjust'. The rest downright refused to take part in it and a few even felt the need to resign from their stations. In all truth, he knew that they were right and that it was cruel but there was nothing he could do now. He couldn't go back on his word now that at one o'clock tomorrow afternoon Hilary's like support would be disconnected, she would die and he'd be free. Yet why did he not want to? There had been this overwhelming guilt in his abdomen, a conscience so heavy it made his head pound like a steady beating drum. Sadly, he picked up a picture of his family and gently stroked the faces of his wife and two daughters and their children. It wasn't because of the money that he was taking up this job: the very thought repulsed him. He could keep up appearances that it was the motive if he was ever questioned but the real fact of the matter was what would have happened if he'd refused East. The mad had every part of this city in the palm of his hand and Roy dreaded to think what would happen if he felt the need to take revenge. He had more than enough power to hurt his family if need be: just look at what was happening to Hilary. The police, the crooked ones, no doubt, had been up interviewing him to find out his reasons for Hilary's 'treatment' after getting several complaints from her family and also hospital staff but had found no reason to believe foul play. Or perhaps that payoff obviously handed out by East had played a hand in it. The thought tasted bitter in his mouth. _They_ probably didn't even think of their families as they greedily received that big fat wad of notes.

"Bastards!" He cried out loud, banging his fist so hard on the desk he feared that it had cracked. Luckily it hadn't. A hell of a time would have been had trying to explain that one. Lord knows he had had to do enough explaining this past week to last him a life time. There was a timid knock on the door as Roy gingerly rubbed his wrist. He wasn't as young as he used to be. "Come in!" He beckoned.

A young member of the nursing staff named Laney came in with a rather flustered look on her face. Her pretty mouth was set in a deep frown. "Doctor," She said, "There's a problem in Ward 4. You need to come look!"

Roy closed his eyes in an effort to keep out any worry that might overcome him. That was Hilary's ward. "I see." Standing up, he felt his old joints crack and ache. He definitely wasn't as young as he used to be.

As quickly as he could, he took the elevator up to Ward 4 accompanied by Laney and, just he suspected, the trouble was in Hilary Tatibana's room. And, not as he suspected, Kai Hiwatari was right in the middle of it, along with a group of around eleven youngsters including a news reporter and two policemen who were standing outside the door with their arms folded.

"What is the meaning of this!" Roy demanded as he entered the room.

Garnet switched on a megaphone. "We're here for a protest of euthanasia. Stop euthanasia!"

Furiously, though it was more than fury when he realised that in his pocket was the injection he'd meant to give Hilary this afternoon, he tried to plea with the policemen. "This is a hospital, for Christ's sake! We have very sick patients in here who won't be able to get their much needed rest with all this racket going on!"

One of them, the one with grey hair, produced a permit and handed it Roy. "They applied for a chance to have an uninterrupted protest for twenty-four hours."

"Normally," said the other in a Russian accent similar to the previous, "the council wouldn't allow such a thing, especially in a hospital, but when they discovered that it was to fight the ongoing battle with legalising euthanasia, they decided it would be best to let them go on with it providing fifty percent of hospital staff agreed to provide them with a premises and also to position their patients in another ward until it was over." He ran a hand through his short purple hair. "Besides, you know our new mayor is all about the people."

"Yeah, _Doctor_," Kai said, smirking. "It's only for twenty four hours. What could possibly happen in twenty four hours?"

He stared at Roy intently with his crimson eyes almost burning a hole into his soul and the doctor was immediately aware that Kai knew something. Roy's heart began beating faster as if in time to some radically quick tempo-ed dance. Of course he knew something. He'd been snooping around the warehouse the other night and on the computer where the stupid East kept all his files.

He was a doomed man.

"I need to give Hilary an injection," He decided to chance his arm, "To give her…nourishment."

"Bullshit!" Cried Hilary.

Kai kept staring at him. "Do that and we'll take a blood sample."

"You have no authorisation."

"When that blood's analysed no one will care, will they, _Doctor?_" Kai took a step towards him. "Face it, Roy. You're finished. When she wakes up which will be"- he checked his watch-"roughly one hour from now, by my calculation, she's going to tell everything."

Roy froze, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "H-how do you know that?"

Kai tapped the side of his nose. "I have my ways."

"But East-"

"Can kiss my slightly rotund derrière." The megaphone brandishing Garnet completed his sentence for him.

"You don't understand," Roy pleaded, grabbing a hold of Kai's navy shirt, "you don't know what he'll do if she wakes up! He'll come after me and my family. Probably you and your family! He's already tried."

"Can I quote that?" Mariam asked, lifting her pen up from her notepad.

Kai shot her a look that said 'not now' and tactfully softened his voice. "Look, East's only as powerful as he is while he's a free man. Once Hilary wakes up she'll be able to give evidence in a court room and put him behind bars for a good few years anyway. And, if you're still worried, you can get an identity change from the U.S government and go into hiding. And us, well, he's already tried to stop us."

Tyson nodded vigorously. "Yeah! He totally blew up our offices! I'm talking seriously kablamo here!"

Hilary made a big gesture with her hands to demonstrate the explosion. "Kaboom!" Roy, of course, couldn't see it.

"And if that's not stopped us," Mariah continued, "What will?"

Roy shook his head woefully. "It's the time before the trial I'm worried about."

Garnet made a 'pfft' noise and waved her hand dismissively. "Will you relax? We all know that the first person he's gonna target will be Kai." The other's looked at her in appal and Garnet held her hands up defensively. "I'm just saying! And you've all been thinking it!"

This thought made a smile crop up on Roy's withered looking face. "You're right. I wasn't thinking. Of course Kai will be his first target!" He looked at the ever calm Russian. "And I'm sure you can hold your own against whatever he throws at you." There was silence in the room as Roy, knowing he was defeated anyway, considered his next step. He could either run to East and inform him on the current situation or choose to cooperate with the groups of teenagers that have somehow been able to outsmart them at every move. The former would probably be big waste of time since it would only cause a bigger ruckus than what was already going on. He chose the latter. "Alright. Alright, you guys win." He held out a hand to Kai who shook it with conviction. "Well done. You obviously really care about this girl."

Kai dipped his head so no-one could see his cheeks turn a crimson similar to his now burning eyes. It seemed the flames were dancing.

"Oh my God!" Mariah shouted. "Is Hilary blushing?"

The teens, bar the policemen, looked at Hilary's now ecstatic ghost who wasn't paying attention to anything but the fact that all attention was on her, except one man's eyes.

"I think she is," Roy confirmed, smiling in humour at her body. "What do you know?" He chuckled. "The faeries must have told her." He was silent again for a few minutes: it seemed as if he wanted to say something but he couldn't find the words to do so. Every so often, he stared at each of the teenagers and then back to Hilary's body with the dawning of realization evident on his face. "You can see her." It wasn't a question but a statement. "I know that you are supposed to see ghosts – though I personally didn't believe it- and that's how you've been so successful. Hilary's a ghost and she's here right now, isn't she?"

Hilary looked surprised and impressed. "Good guess."

"It's true." Said Tala. "We can see ghosts. And it's also true that we can see Hilary. But Hilary's not a ghost. She's something in between the living and the non-living. An entity, if you will." He nodded to the place she was standing. "And she is here right now, in body _and_ mind."

"She's known everything that's going on," Mariah said softly with a gentle look on her face, "and it's so frustrating for her. She just wants to wake up, to live again, to be _real _again. Please," Her voice almost cracked here, "Let her. She's no longer a client to us but a friend and we just want our friend to live."

Hilary quirked an eyebrow her. "That's sweet and all, 'Riah, but where have you been for the last five minutes? He's already agreed to give in." She smiled as Mariah made an 'oh' shape with her lips. "But that was so nice! I feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"So," Max said, holding the last letter on, "we just sit here for forty minutes until Hilary wakes up?" Everyone nodded and Max sighed. "Anyone got any ideas to make the time pass?"

Hilary shook her head. "My stomach's too full of butterflies to think."

"Charades!" cried Garnet and was greeted with a reply of groans. She pursed her lips. "Well you guys think of something."

Nurse Lacey entered the room, where she's left moments before to answer he bleeper, eyeing the 'protesters' warily before heading to Dr. Roy. "Doctor, there's a Mr. Craig East in your office. He says it's important."

Dr. Roy swapped glances with Kai who nodded his permission to leave. Once he had did so, he nodded again this time to the two policemen. "Ian, Bryan, you guys follow him," he said in a hushed voice.

"No problem," They said simultaneously.

"Guys," Garnet said after a few minutes, her smile wavering, "are any of you feeling that thing in the pit of stomach when you think something's about to go wrong?" Mostly everyone nodded. "Me too."

Ian and Bryan ran at top speed, panic on their faces, into Hilary's room. Their faces were red tinged indicating they had ran pretty fast. "Guys," Ian said, panting slightly, "there's a showdown going on in Roy's office and they're planning on bringing it up here! If I were you, I'd scatter!"

"What about Hilary?" Kai demanded. "We can't leave her body here! Can we take it with us?"

"It's a risk if you disconnect her from all the machinery that's keeping her alive right now." Roy appeared at the doorway red faces and out of breath and looking as old and decrepit as ever. As if to explain, he added, "I left East in the elevator and ran up here. You've got two minutes at best."

Kai bit his lip and looked around the room, desperate to find a way out of this situation. "Everyone split up. From three teams of four. Hilary, Tala and Ray you come with me. Garnet, Mariah, Tyson and Ian are in team two, head up to the top floor. The rest, to the bottom." No one moved. "NOW!" Jolted by Kai's sudden bark, they quickly separated and headed to their assigned destinations.

"How are you planning on taking Hilary's body?" Tala asked, eyeing the equipment surrounding her. "It's going to be a bit obvious what we're doing."

Kai turned to Roy and grabbed at his overcoat. His desperation was now clearer than ever. "How long can she survive without the respirator?"

"Twenty minutes tops." Roy replied and Kai flinched. They needed more than that. They heard the elevator doors ping open and Kai fearfully looked at the doctor who nodded almost sadly. "You'll have to take her. There's no other choice. If I don't kill her, East will do it himself. Take the door on the right wall of the room and keep going through them until you think it's safe enough to take the corridors. I'll hold East of here." He saw Kai was about to object and intervened. "I'm an old man, Kai. It's better this way."

"Thank you," Kai said softly, "for everything."

He let go of Roy and was about to take off when he felt the old man's wrinkled hand grab his arm. "When this is over," he whispered to him, "promise me the first thing you'll do is tell her you love her."

Kai smirked. "I will."

The three boys tore off the wires and the oxygen mask from Hilary's face and body then Kai carried her bridal style through the door East had told them about. They'd got to about the third door when they heard a gunshot resonate through the corridors followed by the cry that often came before breathing the final breath. Undeniably, the voice was Dr. Roy's. Hilary made a short gasp and felt tears well in her eyes. He was a good man, in the end. She looked at Kai whose face had now become void with concentration. She imagined his mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out what to do. They had come so close to being together yet, for the sake of ten minutes, it may never be. A clock in the fourth room showed that she had twenty five minutes left and therefore fifteen before Hilary's body ran out of resources and began shutting down. It was best she didn't say anything to Kai. There was no point. It was inevitable anyway. Despite herself, she felt a smile on her lips as Kai peered down both ends of the corridors before signalling that they sprint to the stairs and then up. He'd tried to hard for her. At least she knew at the very last moment when her heart stopped beating its last, she'd know that it wasn't beating on its own. Kai's was there too, with her always not matter what happened.

As they made their way up to the second floor, they heard the stairways doors burst open below them and East yell out orders for some of his lackeys to take each floor. As if they were in sync, the boys all quickened their pace and crashed through the third floor's door and along the ward with many baffled nurses jumping out of their way. Without warning, Kai ducked into an empty room and drew all the curtains before crouching down against the wall. The other two copied him and they all stayed still for what seemed like forever to Hilary until they heard the sounds of several men running past them. She saw Kai visibly relax ever so slightly, the intial danger gone, until he could catch his breath. He then placed Hilary's body on the nearest bed and sat on the edge of it, head in his hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tala nudge Ray and then indicate to the clock on the wall. Hilary did so too and almost choked. She now had less then ten minutes left. Ray seemed to move towards Kai but Tala grabbed his arm and shook his head firmly, biting his lip as he, too, tried to think of the next step.

"I know what you guys are doing." Kai said simply. "Don't you think I'm well aware of the time?"

"Kai…" Hilary whispered and sat beside him on the bed, letting her warmth smother him. "You did all you can. Something's are just not meant to be."

He looked at her sadly. "I wanted them to."

Feeling tears in her eyes, Hilary nodded. "Me too."

Tala peered out of the curtains from the wall. "They're coming back." They were silent until they had passed again. "And they're gone."

Kai stood up and began pacing the room. "There's got to be something we can do!" Furiously, punched the wall, causing some of the plaster to fall off. This sudden flare of anger made the teenagers stare at him in surprise. Kai snorted to himself. Let them be surprised. He didn't care anymore. The only thing he cared about was Hilary and in less than five minutes she would be gone forever unless he thought of some master plan. But he knew there was nothing. He'd done it. Blown it. Bye bye and thanks for playing. There was now blood running down his knuckles and Kai stared at it dumbly. What did it matter? He'd let it bleed. That way, he might have a chance to bleed to death and join Hilary in the next world.

"Kai!" He heard her scream in anguish. "It's starting!"

Kai turned round and, in horror, he saw that she was beginning to fade away. The calmness she had shown a few minutes ago disappeared as the bitter truth settled in: she was dying. Her eyes were filled with terror as they locked on to his which reflected the same emotion. "NO!" He yelled. "you can't go! Hilary," He had to tell her this before she left him altogether. "I love you!" Just as he uttered those last words, her voice, a final scream, and her spirit completely disappeared until there was nothing left but a sorrowful echo. Desperately, he turned to Tala who had been feeling her pulse. "Did she hear me?" Solemnly, Tala shook his head. Kai let himself sink to his knees. He'd failed her. She was gone forever now. Never again could he hear her sweet voice or even get the chance to kiss her lips properly. She would never know how he feels about her. It was ironic, really. He finds some one to care about and then they go away. It was always the same. But his was different. He knew that they were star crossed lover, doomed from the beginning. Then it struck him. He still had one more ball to play before the game was over.

He immediately got to his feet and pushed Tala and Ray away from her body and place his lips on hers, closing her nose shut and trying not to shudder at the coldness of her skin. He gave her rapid breaths of air and then pressed on her chest five times, just as he'd been taught during his time in prison when he'd been forced to learn first aid. Tala and Ray shot bewildered glances as Kai repeated the whole procedure again. Realsing what he was up to, Tala once again went back to her wrist and tried to get a pulse, mentally willing his buddy, no, he was like a brother to him, on. Relentlessly, he tried for a third time once again getting no results. He looked up from her mouth at Tala who shook his head again.

"Don't stop!" Ray urged.

Kai nodded and bent in to give her CPR once more and pushed some more oxygen into her lungs. But this time, he did more then just give her oxygen: he began to kiss her. Snow White could be waiting for true love's first kiss. It seemed his effort had gone to waste and was about to pull away and admit defeat when he felt her tongue meet his.

"There's a pulse!" Tala cried excitedly.

Smiling, he kept kissing her as he felt her eyelashes brush against his cheek as his sleeping beauty awoke. He opened his eyes too, and they met. Her eyes were so much more beautiful on her body, though it was hard for him to believe they could sparkle any more, those glistening rubies. Slowly, they pulled away from each other but not for long when Hilary flung her arms around his waist, feeling his body for the first time. He brought his arms around her. The feeling was mutual.

"I told you I was gonna bear hug you!" She teased. After a moment she let go of him. "Geez, I thought I was a goner for a moment." She smiled. "But I knew my knight in shining armour would rescue me. By the way, what were you trying to say before I, you know, _died_?"

Kai swallowed hard. "I can't remember."

Tala and Ray tutted and rolled their eyes at each other. "We'll get you outside," They chimed.

Once they were alone, Kai looked at the floor. His normal confidence had completely disappeared. If he could just say those three little words. Why was it so hard?

"I'll try again," Hilary said. "What did you say?"

"I…" he met her eyes, the flames within them dancing, "…love you."

She smirked and slipped his arms around his waist. "I know." She told him, giggling. "I heard you." Shaking his head and laughing all the same, Kai leaned in to kiss her sweet lips. "And by the way," She said, kissing him back. "I love you too."

* * *

Please review! And btw, IT IS NOT OVER YET! 

jellybean-kitty


	12. An Engaging Night

So Hilary is now with the land of the living. Bless her! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

An Engaging Night 

Kai sat patiently in his jeep as he waited for Hilary to come out of her parent's house. Since wakening up a week ago, they had seen each other every day without exception like lovers who'd been reunited after years of separation. The feeling Kai had every morning when he woke and realised that once again, he'd get to hold Hilary, feel her beside him, kiss her lips made his heart flutter in a way that he never thought possible; he's since discovered anything was possible. Even getting his business up and running again had been a relatively easy task for him as he chose a temporary building to host his clients in until the original had been renovated. Also, for the first time in a year, he had taken a vacation from work, leaving his firm in the hands of the more than capable Tala who would be helped, a choice that wasn't his or anyone's for that matter, by the not so capable Garnet. The only business related thing Kai had done in the last week was arrange for another premises and sign the insurance forms. The rest of his time had been spent with Hilary and getting to know her, or, closer to the truth, her body better. He knew it was love. He'd known that much the first time he'd laid his eyes on her even though it wasn't clear to him then. Spending one moment without her almost made him suffocate when he couldn't breathe her in and when they were together he was able to live again.

"Hey!" She said to him, kissing him lightly on the cheek as she got into his car. He hadn't even noticed her come out of her house. "Nice day, huh?" She commented on the clear skies above her and Kai noticed that she wasn't exactly dressed accordingly for the weather but more so for the occasion in a formal black knee length skirt and a plain white blouse. He was also, though his choice of attire was largely more masculine. "So are we ready to go or are you just gonna stare at the skies all day." Kai noticed her shiver. "Not that I wouldn't mind the latter."

"Don't be nervous," Was all he said as he left the safety of Hilary's street and drove towards the L.A.P.D and parked a little bit down the street where the traffic wasn't as demanding for spaces. Making sure that the door was locked, he walked beside Hilary into the busy building amassed with distracted looking people. He gave them no second thought and barged his way into the reception desk where he confirmed the time of their appointment and were led, by a burly policeman, away from the hubbub to a more secluded part of the building. They made no small talk which was fine by Kai. It never was a strong point of his anyway.

"Wait here," He grunted as he indicated to a small waiting area that offered no magazines but a water dispenser and four padded chairs in a row. Hilary sat down first, crossing her legs, and Kai next to her. He took her hand, loving the privilege that he'd just so recently been given, and held it warmly in his, occasionally rubbing his fingers over the sooth and silky skin. She turned to him and offered a smile which was on the borderline of a grimace.

Kai felt the need to give her some comforting words but the chance was robbed off him when a slender man, twice his age at least, came out of the door across form them and flicked through a file before adjusting his glasses to higher on the bridge of his nose. He cleared his throat and looked directly at Hilary with hazel eyes: an action that caught her by surprise.

"Miss Tatibana?" His silky voice didn't wait for confirmation before inviting her into his office. Kai followed her inside rather than sticking around for an invitation he had the feeling he wouldn't be receiving. The man, Kai saw his file said Detective Lawson – a fitting name, he thought-, looked at Kai with distaste as he walked past him, cockily meeting his hazel eyes with his own crimson. The message was clear: don't mess with the girl or he'd be sorry. He shook Hilary's hand and then Kai's, making sure he caught the latter's name. "I'm glad you agreed to meet with me, Miss Tatibana."- he was told to call her Hilary-"I know that you've been through some traumatic events in the past couple of weeks and this is obviously quite difficult for you to do but it is the right thing. We've been trying to pin something down on Craig East for a while now and it just so happens that one of his victims has survived to tell their story. So what is your story?"

Hilary took a deep breath and told him everything that had happened since finding the drugs on her little brother to confronting East and then when she woke up: emitting all aspects of the supernatural. When he asked about Kai she explained he was an old friend who's been sticking to her side ever since she went into a coma and in that way, he helped her wake up. Lawson looked sceptical but Hilary just smile. If only he knew the exact story. Unfortunately, Kai had warned her that most people, unless they'd had experiences themselves, thought that their whole Gift thing was a joke; something made up by a handful of teens so desperate to make themselves a place in the big bad world that they would concoct a web of lies. Such people, he had explained, obviously don't realise that the amount of clients they've had can't possibly be wrong but that was the problem with the general public. They refused to believe what they don't understand.

The man was possessed as he wrote down everything the girl had to say and only stopped when she did. "I have to say," He told her, "this will hold up great in court if you decide to give evidence against him. And also if you agree to give your story as well." He nodded to Kai, not meeting the intense eyes the teen owned. They were unnerving. He pretended that his papers needed his eyes attention as he shuffled them.

"I'm guessing you guys have already got him in custody?" Kai asked too casually. Hilary noticed there was a speck oh apprehension in his voice that he hid well, though not well enough from her. "That would have been your first step."

"Actually…no." If Kai's eyes were fire, they'd have burned right through him then. "You see, we can't arrest him unless we have a concrete reason. The man's powerful, as I'm sure you know, and he'd be out on bail in no time unless we can prove that he isn't suitable to be with the general public." He shook his head. "I knew that guy was a drug pusher but I didn't know that he's stoop so low as to potential murder."

"….He did kill some one." Hilary whispered. "He killed the Doctor."

Lawson didn't reply at first. "I guess he is a murderer then." He gave them both a form to sign. "This is to agree that you'll come to court to give evidence. I'll warn you now," He peered over his glasses at both of them, though mainly Kai. "Don't say more than you need to. The last thing I need you to do is change your story midway through a trial." They both nodded and Kai took the girl's hand, leading her out of the office. "One last thing." Lawson called after them. Kai stopped but didn't turn around to face him. "Watch your backs. East is a dangerous man and he'll be even more dangerous now he had a personal vendetta on his mind. I don't know how soon we can arrest him." The two teens walked on again. "I just hope it won't be too late," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Hilary asked Kai when they were safely out of the earshot of any LAPD officials. "Going to court? Shouldn't they have a separate recording for endangered witnesses?" 

He seemed to consider this for a second while he got into his car. "Probably but it won't do much good. If he wanted to find out who the witnesses are all he'll have to do is pay the right people. Besides, once he's locked up he'll lose any power he had on the outside to the people ass raping him behind bars. I wouldn't worry about it." He started up the car and cranked the radio up a few notches so there was some background noise.

Hilary scrunched up her nose. "Thanks for that pleasant image. But it's not me I'm worried about." Kai glanced at her briefly as he manoeuvred out of the space and back onto the busy road. "You know that out of everyone _you're_ the one he's going to have the biggest beef with." She looked out of the window as several cars whizzed past. "And from past experiences he likes his beef dead." Not daring to meet look at her, Kai kept his eyes on the road, pretending that it needed his full concentration. Eventually Hilary sighed. The radio being her only companion was quite dull. That and she didn't like the song. "So what are we going to do now? I'm assuming you're driving with the intention to stop somewhere, right?"

"I figured we should get something to eat." Kai indicated to the clock. "Time's going on and that was quite a late meeting we got. Have you eaten already?" His question was answered by Hilary's stomach which began to rumble.

"Nope." Hilary put a hand over her stomach in a futile attempt to make it stop growling. "You'd never have known would you?"

Kai chuckled. "I had no idea. So I'm thinking nothing too fancy, like pizza or something."

Agreeing, Hilary said, "Pizza sounds great."

"This place does amazing pizza." Kai informed her as they reached their destination. Without turning the ignition off, Kai got out of the car and Hilary, surprised, was helped out by a valet. Tossing him the keys, Kai walked Hilary to the gold plated doors of the restaurant.

"This is Oliver's!" Hilary exclaimed when she realised just where she was actually eating tonight. A place like this was mainly reserved for A-listers or people who knew people. Especially since the owner, Oliver, was a well renowned chef, famous over the entire world. "How'd you book a place like this?"

He smirked, knowing she was impressed. Under normal circumstances even he wouldn't be able to book a table in a restaurant this exclusive. "Oliver's a very satisfied client from a few months back. After we solved the problem with his late grandmother never leaving his bathroom, he was so relieved that he assured us anytime we needed somewhere to eat his place would always have a table reserved for us."

"Kai Hiwatari!" The chef himself greeted Kai warmly, shaking Kai's hand in both of his. "It's great to see you!" Kai returned the greeting but Oliver was no longer paying him any attention but smoothed back his green hair and held out a hand to Hilary. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Oliver." He kissed her hand dramatically.

"This is my date," Kai explained. "Hilary Tatibana."

"So it's a date?" Oliver repeated thoughtfully. He clapped his hands at a waiter who stopped what he was doing immediately to be at his boss's side. "Get these two a table at the back." To Kai he said, "You can have the best table in the restaurant. That much, I owe you."

Once they were alone and seated, the menus propped up before them, Hilary let her hair down. "I'm glad I was wearing something formal." She lowered her voice. "Hey, isn't that Ming Ming over there?" Kai cocked an eyebrow as the name wasn't ringing a very loud bell. "The singer?" Kai again looked at blankly. "It doesn't matter. I don't really like her anyway."

"Kenny does." Kai stated bluntly. "If I have the right person."

Oliver arrived with a bottle of champagne and opened it in front of them before pouring the clear bubbling liquid into their glasses. "I know you're a little too young but I won't tell if you don't." He winked and then set the bottle in a wine cooler placed in the centre of the table.

Hilary grimaced. "I hate this stuff. Craig used to always give me it when we went to parties. I guess it's an acquired taste that I haven't developed yet." Regardless of what she just said, she sipped the champagne politely so that Oliver wouldn't be offended after his kind gesture. "Hmm," she said thoughtfully. "Champagne and pizza. That's a strange combination."

Kai agreed. "It's acceptable when you're dining with the stars." He swirled the ominous drink in his glass before taking a draw from it and placing it back down on the table. "I'd rather have water right enough."

A short while later Oliver returned with a pad and a pen and asked for their order. Both ordered a margarita pizza much to Oliver's amusement. Every time some one from Paranormal Psychiatrists came in a pizza was always ordered. Some things just never changed, he figured, and assured them that their food wouldn't take long. Before he left, he topped up their glasses again. Hilary felt the need to force a polite smile and then grimaced again once the chef's back was turned.

She started to talk to him about something or another but he really couldn't pay attention to her. Absentmindedly, he put his hand into his trouser pocket and wrapped his fingers around the velvet box inside. He'd forked out quite a sum of money on this and he was slightly nervous about giving it to Hilary. He had no idea what her answer would be with her spontaneous personality and that put him on the edge slightly though he was sure to keep it hidden. It had to be a surprise. Whatever had compelled him to act so brashly was beyond him but he knew as he handed over his credit card to be charged it had felt right. Everything about this felt right: the girl, the time, the ring. There was something he'd need to get clear first of all before any questions were asked.

"What do your parents think of me?" He blurted out, interrupting her mid sentence.

For a second she looked bewildered and then regained her composure. "They think you're a charming young man." Kai had only met her parents twice during the time that they'd been officially a couple and both times the meeting had gone well. At first, her mother was wary as she remembered the phonecall Kai made to her on the day he met her daughter but after Hilary had cleared everything up she had visibly relaxed. More than that. She had shown her gratitude by smothering Kai in a huge embrace in a token of thanks for saving her daughter. Her father had offered him a cigar: which in his terms meant that he was already part of the family. "I guess they like you. Why do you want to know?"

Kai removed his hand from his pocket. "No particular reason."

A pizza was placed in front of him. He hadn't even been aware of Oliver approaching the table. Nodding his thanks, he took his cutlery and began to eat. Smiling in anticipation, Hilary did the same. Before long, both plates were completely clear and all that remained of their dinner were a few solitary crumbs which would soon meet their makers when the plates were washed. Finished off the last of the champagne, and Hilary's, Kai asked for the bill from Oliver, who insisted that it was on the house. Thanking him heartily, Kai shook his hand and then left with Hilary in tow beside him.

His hand found hers as they left the restaurant and walked in a completely opposite direction from Kai's parked car. Hilary looked at him in wonder as his eyes seemed fixed on the path before him. He definitely had something on his mind and she didn't need to be a fortune teller to work that one out. Even the way he held her hand was tighter than normal. For whatever reason, it made the butterflies in her full stomach fly about. Wither it was anticipation or dread she wasn't sure. It didn't take a genius to work out that he had something to tell her and wherever it was they were going was when she would know what it was. Conversation at this point, she knew, would be a lost cause. When Kai had something on his mind, that was the only thing he could concentrated on. It seemed she would just have to patient and hope they reached their destination soon before the butterflies demanded release and her food with them. That would not be a pretty sight, to say the least.

When they got there, all Hilary could say was 'wow'. She had been taken to a beautiful public garden that she didn't even know existed in L.A. The pale moonlight shone overheard with the stars – she believed they were only out for her benefit tonight, it seemed so perfect- and underneath their feet, on the marble ground, ground-lights guided their way towards a water fountain which had a pair of lovers as its centrepiece. Around her, their were trees and flowers which seemed to seclude them from the rest of the world so that it was only she and Kai. It surprised her just how welcoming a feeling that was. Kai sat down on the ledge of the fountain and invited her to so too. For what seemed like forever, nothing was said, putting both teenagers into limbo.

"I know we've just met not so recently and we've been going out for even less time," Kai began, "so I'll understand if you decline." He sighed and looked up at the night sky. "I guess I just know that, for me, this is the right thing to do. I know I want to be with you for the rest of my life and obviously fate does too. That's the only way I can describe the way I'm feeling right now." He shook his head and swore. "I've never been good at speaking my feelings."

"Just let it come from the heart." Hilary suggested, her eyes looking at him softly as he seemed to physically struggle with the task at hand.

Reaching into his pocket, he produced a small, purple, satin box and flicked it open to reveal a silver ring with a large diamond in its centre. "I know it's an old cliché," – he looked into her eyes- "but will you marry me?"

She blinked once. Twice. Three times. Then she stared down at the prominently displayed ring, not quite believing that this was happening to her. It was at that moment she realised that she'd been holding her breath the entire time. "Of course I will!" She smiled.

Unable to hide the joy he felt, Kai let a huge grin take over his face and gently slipped the ring onto her engagement finger. She held it up to her face admiringly and then turned her hand to show it to Kai. He held up his own hand to show her his plain silver ring. Flinging her arms around his neck she held on to him tightly, afraid that if she let him go she would wake up from this dream and find that none of this had happened; that she hadn't actually been in ghost. Kai held her just as tightly and stroked her sleek chocolate hair gently. Slowly, he began to kiss her, tenderly and softly, showing that the passion would come later when they had a better control over their emotions and when they wouldn't pollute an area as beautiful as this one. When he pulled apart from her, he just stared at her beautiful face. It was like a snare to capture the hearts of the men who happened to catch their eyes in it.

Suddenly, from behind him, Kai heard a gun cock. He stood up, positioning his body in front of Hilary's for protection. The girl let out a single scream which echoed into the night. Looking up to find the reason for her terror, he discovered he was staring down the barrel of a gun. The man holding it was none other than Craig East himself who was noticeably more ruffled than usual and the look on his face was pure hatred. Beside him were three of his cronies who looked ready to kill him if East just said the word.

Kai swallowed hard as his mind raced for a way to get out of this mess

* * *

Please review!

jellybean-kitty xx


	13. A Knife In The Dark

There's like two more chapters to go, there abouts! Just a little warning.

Disclaimer: I don't won Beyblade

A Knife In The Dark 

Suddenly, from behind him, Kai heard a gun cock. He stood up, positioning his body in front of Hilary's for protection. The girl let out a single scream which echoed into the night. Looking up to find the reason for her terror, he discovered he was staring down the barrel of a gun. The man holding it was none other than Craig East himself who was noticeably more ruffled than usual and the look on his face was pure hatred. Beside him were three of his cronies who looked ready to kill him if East just said the word.

Kai swallowed hard as his mind raced for a way to get out of this mess.

East sniggered as he saw the alarm bells ring inside Kai's head. There was a tremendous power running through him as he steadily aimed the gun for Kai's forehead. He knew that in an instant, he could take Kai's life from him and the power that came with the feeling was overwhelming: an adrenaline rush. "Doesn't this look cosy?" A cruel and twisted smile lit up his face in an almost eerie way in the shadowing moonlight.

"What do you want?" Kai snapped, tearing his eyes away from the gun and forcing them to meet East's. He slid his hand into his back pocket slowly and discreetly as he tried to feel for his mobile phone. That way, he could press a speed dial and get help. Firstly, he would need to stall for time.

"Isn't it obvious? I would revenge. You almost ruined everything." East moved this barrel to aim at Hilary's head and Kai felt his heart jump. He fought the instinctive feeling to move in front of it knowing that East was obviously unstable and possible high on something from the way his eyes were glazed over and the fact his words were slurred ever so slightly and any sudden movement may cause his finger to slip. "And now, I hear that you guys are planning to take me to court? Put me behind bars?" He laughed at the ridiculousness of this idea. "Don't you know I fucking own this city?"

Kai felt a vibration in his hand that signalled his call had been connected. He cringed as there was a slight murmur emitting from it but if East or his boys noticed then they didn't show it. Hopefully Hilary wasn't making it too obvious that he was up to something. He mentally willed her to keep her eyes fixed straight ahead and preferably on the charming and psychotic face of Craig East. The charming and psychotic face of Craig East which showed he wasn't all there. Looking at the three thugs beside him, he saw that they were in no better state. If only Craig would falter his gun position for only a second, Kai could easily take all three of them out in the position they were in. He sized them up: one was a beefy white man who stood at least a head above East-who was not short guy either; another had a scar running down the length of his tanned and ruddy face which was only partly covered by a short beard; the last was a muscular black man who looked like he'd grown up on the Bronx with his folded arms and cold, hard, murderous stare. Under normal circumstances, Kai knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against four of these guys but since they were out of it, he knew that it was be a relatively simple task. If only he could get a chance. A second vibration signalled that his call had ended. Had anyone understood what was happening?

Suddenly, a clear ringing sounded from the electronic device which was supposed to be one of the handiest gadgets known to mankind. Kai now severely doubted it. In a flash, everyone of the opposition pulled out their own guns and aimed them at Kai. He felt a strange feeling of relief of the fact that it wasn't Hilary they pointed their weapons at. That had to be a bonus, surely.

East eyes narrowed dangerously. "What the hell is that?"

"It's my phone." Kai stated. _No duh, Sherlock. _"My colleagues at work will be wondering where I am."

"Answer it." East commanded, keeping his aim steady and true. "But first," He signalled to the scar faced man who dragged Hilary away from Kai's shielding body and pointed his gun under her fragile and now quivering chin. She whimpered slightly as she was roughly dragged beside East. "And no funny stuff."

Kai nodded numbly and connected the call, trying without success not to look into Hilary's panic stricken ruby eyes.

* * *

"Who was that?" Garnet asked her boyfriend who now had a very confused look plastered onto his face. 

"Apparently," he replied, "it was Kai but he didn't say anything. There was just a silence so I hung up." He frowned and looked onto the screen of his phone. "I guess I should phone him back, huh?"

"I guess you should." Garnet looked out of the window in the makeshift residence that they were now operating within. In a few minutes Tala would be finished and they could join the others at home, or what was left of it. With the renovations and restorations being carried out by various maintenance workers, it certainly wasn't the home she was used to. Said boy was now glaring into the space before him as he prepared to initiate a telephone conversation which, from experience, she knew he wasn't the best at.

"Hey, Kai?" Tala said, showing his flaring initiative. "I just got a weird call from you. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's all good," Kai answered him calmly but distracted all the same. Tala's frown became deeper. "I just- I just might be a while before I come home. Me and Hilary are at the water monument, you know, the one near Oliver's. But, can you make sure that the cat gets fed? It'll be hungry."

Tala immediately sat up straight as if some one had jabbed him with a red hot poker. "Sure. I'll see you soon." He hung up and, almost shakily, he put his phone back into the black pocket of his trousers.

"What was that about?" Garnet asked, her voice a little edgy from the jerkiness of Tala's movements. "You seem a bit…anxious?"

"Kai's in trouble." He got up and grabbed at the set of keys he'd left hanging near the door. Garnet readily followed him. "When we were younger, during the glory days, we had a code if something bad happened so that the other would know what's going down. We'd say that the cat needs to be fed or the dog needs to be walked or something like that." He saw that Garnet was about to question him and decided to save her the trouble. "In conclusion, Kai's signalled to me that there's something wrong. He's at the water fountain just by Oliver's restaurant." He pressed a couple of dollar bills into her hand when he'd finished locking up the office for the night. "Get a cab back home and let everyone know what's happening. I need to go there and help him."

"But Tal-" Garnet began to protest even though she knew it would be useless.

He put a finger on her lips. "He _needs_ help. Call the police, tell the others and then sit and wait." He hailed for a cab and pushed Garnet into it, kissing her briefly. Her fingers wrapped around his hand for a momentary second as her eyes willed him a silent prayer. Despite the warm evening breeze, she could feel a tiny shiver run through him. This wasn't going to be as simple as Tala turns up to save the day she could bet. Her sea blue eyes never left his icy blue orbs for a second until Tala was completely out of sight and running down the sidewalk to his car. Quietly, she took out her mobile and called for the emergency services, though what good a tip would be was beyond her. She only hoped that they would listen.

* * *

Not sure of what to do, Kai put his phone into his pocket. For now, East had bought the seemingly innocent conversation and was obviously ready to take his revenge. Although Tala might even think the conversation was innocent lest he forgot their old code from back in the day. Desperately trying to stall for time, Kai racked through his brains to think of something to keep East talking. Anything at all to stop that trigger from being pulled on either him or Hilary. Even better would be an instant relaxation of concentration. Even a fleeting distraction would give him the chance to preoccupy the goons until at least Hilary gets away. 

"So what are you planning on doing now, East? You've got us here so just what's the master plan?" Judging from the little times Kai had come face to face with East he could tell the guy was one to blow his own trumpet. It had better be an entire musical score he played. Surely Kai could conduct him throughout?

"It's simple really. Shoot you. Shoot her. Get rid of the bodies. Easy." It sent a chill through Kai's spine at how easily East was able to talk about killing them both. It couldn't be his first time.

"And the police?" Kai prompted. "Don't you think they'll have something to say when their prime witnesses suddenly disappear or turn up dead?" Here was the clincher. How could East resist an offer to sing about his overmastering power on the city?

East shook his head and laughed. "Money talks when it comes to greedy little men who'll do anything for an extra nickel. That'll be no problem. I can easily get them to drop the case. And any honest ones will find that my bargaining price is a little too tempting to turn down. Let's just say it's more than you two that I'm willing to dispose of." Behind him, one of the men cracked his knuckles. Kai didn't see who. "And no one's going to find your bodies, trust me. I'm sure you're familiar with the old gangster ritual way back in the nineteen twenty's? The one where their victim gets his feet cemented and then tossed into the deep waters of a nearby harbour?" Kai nodded his sickened affirmation. "Well that's what's going to happen to you. Your body's will never be found until its too late for anyone to do anything about it." He paused thoughtfully. "Maybe I shouldn't kill you just yet." He smirked maliciously. "It might be fun to watch your hands scrape at the surface of the water while your body's dragged down into the abyss below it." He snaked a hand around Hilary's waist. "I'm sure you'll put on quite a show when you watch your boyfriend go now first. Oh, I mean fiancée."

"People will look for us!" Hilary claimed, narrowing her eyes dangerously, the fear turning into courage. "People who know that you have a score to settle." She wriggled her body out of his grip and shot a quick look at Kai. He knew what it meant instantly. "You and I know that there's only so many people you can put to rest before even the paid off will say enough is enough. You and I both know that."

_That's a girl Hilary._ Kai thought. _Get his attention away from me._

East snorted. "There's something else that can let me control everything I want to." He smoothed his disgruntled hair back into place complacently. "Fear: of death, of the death of others. Fear."

"Fear," She mimicked. "That's how you're going to cover this up? By hoping that everyone will do what you say because _you_ say it? Well that's a complete load of crap. My friends will _never_ let fear rule their lives. They helped me out, didn't they? Even when the going was tough they didn't give up. Face it!" She swung around and met his eyes as far as her holder would let her. "You don't have as much power as you think you do! After you finish us off you'll rot in a jail cell for the rest of your life." Out of nowhere, East struck her with the butt of his gun, causing her to fall backwards into her captor.

That was the break Kai needed. In a split second he dived on top of East in a blind rage and wrestled him to the ground. The momentary distraction let Hilary drive her elbow into the gut of the scarred man and his grip on his pistol loosened enough for her to grab it from him and aim it on the other two unsuspecting minions. She tried her best to keep her fingers from trembling with the weight of the gun and the knowledge that if they caused her to jump, they could easily be dead. From out of the corner of her eye she could see Kai and East still grappling on the ground, another gun lying several feet from both of them. Her mind raced as she thought on what to do next. Right now, the three men were standing with their hands raised above their heads, though the smirks on two of their faces didn't do much to calm her nerves. She knew that in the end she probably couldn't pull the trigger and take their lives, but did they? Were they willing to try? The shuffling of their feet told her that they were. She froze as she saw them inch closer and closer towards her. They weren't going to stop, she realised and Kai had enough to handle as it was. She closed her eyes and fired a shot that was hopefully low enough to cause an injury to one of them but not high enough to make it serious. The black man screamed in pain and fell to the ground grabbing his leg and baring his teeth.

Kai looked up in a panic. Who'd fired that bullet? He saw Hilary trembling with smoke emitting from the barrel and one of the assailants rolling on the ground.

"Kai, look out!" Hilary screamed at him and he turned back to East just as he plunged a small dagger into his abdomen.

Hissing in pain, he held a hand to his wound which was now leaking a steady stream of red, warm blood. In front of him, he saw East dive for the gun and he did too, ignoring the stabbing sensation he felt pulsate through his nerves. Blindly, he stretched his fingers out and grabbed the cold metal and brought it up to East's forehead, firing a single shot, not wasting a single second. In a flash, he heard the glorious sound of desperate footsteps fleeing the scene and smiled as in the knowledge that Hilary was now safe. He let his eyes close. Something warm and gentle propped him up and from a distance he could hear Hilary's harmonious voice calling his name; the gentleness was now filled with distress. Above him, he could see a bright light so harsh and pure he had to shield his eyes. Absently, his mind trailed to his injury. How much blood had he lost?

"He's losing blood rapidly!" Who was Hilary talking to, Kai wondered. And why was she pressing down on his wound? Didn't she realise it was hurting?

The light left his eyes and trailed down to his body, or so he felt. "Fuck!" He heard Tala say. "What the hell happened? Fuck!" When had he got here? He felt a warm hand take his wrist and press two fingers into it. "He still had a pulse, but it's weak." Some one shook him. He groaned. He just wanted to sleep. "Keep with us Kai! Help is coming soon! Stay awake."

Soft hands brushed his hair back in a comforting manner. The touch he recognised as Hilary's: soft and gentle, loving and caring. He let his head fell back further against her rapidly breathing chest. It was warm. "Please stay with me, Kai." She whispered to him and he felt her take his hands away. "You can't leave me now. You promised to marry me and I'm holding you to it."

A few drops of something wet fell onto his cheek and Kai knitted his eyebrows and forced his eyes open. He noticed that by his side lay a bright and fluorescent torch. "I'm not planning on having it any other way." His voice was hoarser than what he was used to. He saw her tear encrusted eyes light up like a sparkling silver around ruby and she smiled in joy. Once again, he let his eyes fall close. A few sirens wailed in the background and he felt strong gloved hands lift him away from Hilary and onto a stretcher and he felt Hilary let go of his hand as he was taken away from her. He wanted to protest but felt incapable to do so with all the fussing of what he assumed were a medical team.

"One of you can ride along with him, if you want to, until we get to the hospital." A lady said.

"You go, Hilary." Tala said. "and make sure he doesn't go dying on us. We need him to pay the bills." Despite himself, Kai found a chortle of laughter leave his throat. He forced his eyes open again and looked directly up at Tala. "Seriously though man we need you around so don't follow that light or whatever."

Kai smirked and was about to reply when an oxygen mask was placed over his mouth. Irritated, he glared at the woman indignantly who'd practically gagged him. He was bleeding to death, not suffocating. Steadily he was lifted into an ambulance followed by Hilary. Once the doors where closed, she took his hand. He felt so cold compared to the warmth her hand was radiating through him. He remembered it as the same feeling he'd had when they'd first 'touched' not long ago. The feeling was as familiar as the scent of a Christmas dinner: you forget about it until you smell that scent of roast beef and all memories come flooding back. Using what little strength he had left, he squeezed her hand softly, a faint reminder that he was still with her and closed his eyes again, unable to keep them open for a second longer.

Hilary went to shake him awake but a kindly hand laid on her shoulder. "Let him sleep. He'll be alright now." The female said to her, smiling calmly. "Perhaps you could tell me what happened?"

Hilary took a deep breath and told her story.

* * *

"KAAIII!" Garnet screamed as she ran into the hospital room, almost stumbling over the carpet in her heels. She dived on top of him and hugged him tightly. "Don't you _ever_ worry me like that again! I thought you were a goner!" 

"Yeah, you pig!" Mariah agreed and took her turn to greet her cousin. She smiled at Hilary who had been waiting patiently in a chair beside Kai's bed for them all to arrive.

Kai looked around the small, dull room as the guests grew in number. "So all of you came to see me? I feel loved." Mariah and Garnet settled at the bottom of his bed and the rest of the gang chose to stand around him.

"And so you should!" Tyson exclaimed. "Did you see that nurses boo-" the girls all glared at him as they predicted what he was about to say-"-oots. They were some nice boots. All leathery and stuff." He waggled his eyebrows at Kai. "I'm considering breaking my leg."

Garnet wrinkled her nose. "I _did_ in fact see her boots. They were tacky and obviously fake. And her breasts?" She smiled nastily, peering around to make sure no one but the occupants of the room would hear her, "let's just say it's more than trauma operations she's had and I know fakes when I see them."

"Can we just leave the poor girl alone?" Ray pleaded. "She comes into work and all she gets is sexual harassment and snide comments from the visitors." He handed Kai a box of chocolates. "We got you these."

Kai accepted them. "Thanks, but you know I don't eat chocolate." He opened them and offered the contents to his friends.

"We know," said Garnet, picking a white chocolate square, "but we'd look pathetic if we bought them for ourselves."

"How's your wound?" Max asked, changing the subject entirely. He noticed that Kai's – who had opted to lay on top of the bed, rather than beneath the covers- bare torso was exposed and over his toned stomach there was a large medical pad covering the area where the dagger had went in. Even now there was still a slight pool of blood in the centre of it.

"It's fine," Kai replied. "No organs punctured, no major arteries severed and no infection. A hell of a lot of blood loss, though." He indicated to the bag of blood that was seeping into his veins via a tube. "They want to keep me in overnight just to make sure there's not going to be any problems or whatever." He rolled his eyes. "I hate hospitals. The doctors always treat you like a child." A thoughtful look flashed across his face in an instant. "What happened to East and the other guys?"

"East," Tala informed him, "has been taken into the morgue: as dead people normally are. And two out of the three who were backing him up have been arrested." He grimaced. "There's also been a huge cleanup of the park since East's brains were splattered all over there." He raised an eyebrow. "You know, you could have made the shot a bit cleaner. I almost wretched when I arrived."

"How do you think I feel?" Demanded Hilary. "I had the guy's brains fly right in front of me! It was dis_gust_ing. But at least that means he's out of out hands, right? I mean, I've gave my statement to the police and everything so its over, isn't it? We're all safe." For the first time, she admired her engagement ring and the way the diamond sparkled under the artificial light. The silver gleam caught Kai's eyes and he turned to Hilary who smiled and nodded. "Actually, guys, we have something to tell you."

Kai took a slight breath in as the group had a Mexican wave of puzzled looks filled with interest and intriguement. "I've asked Hilary to marry me."

"So soon?"

"Oh my God!"

"She said yes, right?"

"I wish I had a camera."

"Good job, man."

"I had no idea you were gonna ask her!"

Various replies came all at once and Kai wasn't even able to determine who said what. Several times his hand was shaken and the girls gifted him with embraces. Turning to Hilary, he saw her smile as she was evidently accepted into the 'family' with open arms and open hearts. Her pearly white teeth glistened against the redness of her lips and her eyes shone as brightly as the jewel that sat in the middle of her ring while she showed it to those who asked to see it. They were impressed. He was pounded with questions: no he did not have a date; yes it would be in a church; he didn't know who his best man would be; why would he be thinking about the meals right now? Tyson shrugged as the last question was answered.

Mariah put her arms around both of their shoulders. "I can't believe my big cousin's getting married! That'll make you my cousin-in-law, Hils." She informed her. "I'm so happy, I feel like crying!"

"How do you think I feel?" Hilary asked and grinned widely as her she and her husband-to-be looked at each other lovingly.

* * *

Please review!

jellybean-kitty xx


	14. The Eye Of The Storm

Not much to say but enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

The Eye Of The Storm 

Kai rubbed his temples in a well hidden aggravation as his patient continued to rant on the chair in front of him. It had been two days since he'd gotten out of hospital and rather than sit around and do nothing, as the doctors had advised, he'd decided to get straight back into work. It helped to relieve any predicted boredom he had seen in the stars had he decided to prolong his break. Unfortunately, the major con of this idea was the fact that he now had to deal with more sorrowful spirits than he really could be bothered with; especially when he wanted to spend majority of his time with Hilary. Hilary had also taken station in Paranormal Psychiatrists. Seemingly in her little trip to the spirit world she had acquired some new talents in the form of being able to communicate with the dead, among other things. There wasn't as much for her to do as the others but she floated around the building checking everything was alright and it was decided she could stand in should anyone need to have a sick day. All in all it worked well to have a substitute or so Kai imagined if they ever actually need one. He had noticed Garnet had conveniently developed some sort of allergy to him that caused her to burst into a coughing fit whenever he was around…

"Are you listening to me?" The young woman demanded, slamming her ghostly hand onto his desk and rattling it with her unnatural strength. "Dr. Hiwatari?"

"I'm sorry," Kai feigned a polite smile. "You were saying?"

She didn't seem to buy his pleasant tone but continued on none the less. "I said I'd left a letter for my fiancé to read before I died and I don't think he's found it."

"You knew you were going to die?" The question was out before he had even bothered to check his notes on the patient and he cringed in anticipation of the outburst he was expecting.

Her relatively pretty face darkened noticeably. "I _knew_ you hadn't been listening. Just what is he paying you for?" She bought his silence as remorse. "I had cancer." She removed her hair and displayed the fact that it was a wig and beneath it had been nothing but baldness with a few tufts of fluffy hair, if it could even be called that. "I knew that I was going to die within this month and I wrote a letter to my fiancé to let him know that our love would last forever even though I, obviously, did not." When Kai looked up in response to her dry humour he noticed the wig was back in place possibly through no action of her own. "He was always hopeless at finding things, I suppose. He hadn't even thought to look through my drawer. If I know he's read it I think I can finally die in peace and move on to heaven or hell or wherever it is I'm going."

Kai though it best to leave out the fact that she had already died. "I'll let him know that."

"Thank you," She smiled gratefully and began to drift away but she stopped in a brief moment of curiosity. "Not that it's any of my business - although it is my business when my fiancé is paying out quite a considerable sum for this session – just what is it that's got you so distracted?"

"I recently got engaged."

"Oh!" This excuse seemed to be a reasonable one as her smile widened and her eyes shone with some sort of affection as she remember her own position not so long ago. "That's great. Just one thing though: don't die. It kind of ruins your plans."

Kai laughed a little. "I'll do my best."

* * *

"Kai!" Hilary caught him just as he left his office and thrust a file into his arms. He noticed that her hair was the tiniest bit askew as if she'd been running about for most of the morning. "Garnet went upstairs to her bed. She said that all this dust and stuff from the renovations are 'making her dizzy'." She used air quotes to emphasise her point. "She went upstairs to clear her head and she may or may not be back tomorrow." 

Now Kai realised why she seemed as if she was going at a mile a minute. With all the refurbishment of their original offices being completed Hilary had seen it as her personal duty to get things up and running again including hoovering the carpets and dusting the furniture at every chance she got so that the excess dust that seemed to be appearing from nowhere could be banished. This seemed to be her little way of making up for the damages she thought she'd caused: everyone knew she blamed herself for the destruction of the original offices even though the reparations were even better and friendlier looking. Now she was also filling in for Garnet in the administration/reception duties it was a mystery why she didn't look flat-out exhausted.

"Honestly," she continued on, "you'd think there was asbestos or something here with the way she was acting earlier on." She shook her head demonstrating the mystery that was Garnet Granger, hypochondriac extraordinaire. "I'll need to pass on the rest of the files that are sitting by reception. Talk to you later."

She began to walk off but Kai swept an arm around her waist and puller her in to his body so close that she could almost feel his heart beating. She allowed herself to relax against the pleasing warmth of his arms wrapped around her and let the back of her head fall against his shoulder. From where she was she could look right into his eyes.

"I'm free this afternoon." He whispered seductively in her ear, smelling the sweet fragrance of her shampoo from her hair.

"I'm not. There're a ton of things to do…" It was a weak argument and she knew it.

She tried to pull away but Kai only held her in to him tighter. She could feel her back pressing into his muscled torso and had to fight to urge to rip his shirt of so she could press her hands against the bare skin. Tilting her head slightly, she anticipated his kiss but it never came.

"In my office." He commanded.

They tumbled in and fell onto the soft carpet. Kai kicked to door shut with a bang and found Hilary's lips with his own. She began to unbutton his shirt, fumbling with desire and the thrill of what would happen if they were caught on the job. She felt Kai's hands work their way up the back of her blouse and whip it off over her shoulders so that only her bra remained. In a second that was removed too. The sight of her naked breasts still sent a shiver through him. Even more so when she pressed them into his bare chest while they began to kiss again. She felt her breath go ragged as he unzipped her skirt and pulled it down. She pulled down his trousers and prepared for the euphoria that would follow.

* * *

Mariah tried to put the noises out of her head as she sipped her tea in the staffroom. All she could say was thank God there were no clients in to see them right now. Every so often there was a banging and a moan of pleasure which made her wonder how thin they'd rebuilt the walls. She looked over at Kenny and Ray whose faces were a mask: unreadable. 

"Sooo," She said. "It looks like their getting on great."

"I'm trying _not_ to think what it looks like." Ray muttered.

"I can only judge by sound." Kenny mumbled.

She took another sip of her tea. "Me too. It's disturbing."

Another groan echoed throughout the building and Tyson crashed into the room. "Do you hear what Kai and Hilary are up to?" He asked excitedly.

"How can we not?" Ray replied darkly.

Tyson grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Me and Max have been looking listening behind the door. They're at it like rabbits!"

Mariah stared at him in a mixture of disbelief and disgust. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a reply. You need to get a girlfriend."

"I know," He grinned, "Kai showed me what I'm missing out on!" Something crashed down the hallway. "At least he's passionate about something…"

* * *

Hilary began to button her blouse back up with a slight smile on her face. Her body was still heaving from the activities that she and Kai had just took part in which certainly was not suitable for kids. She frowned as she caught her reflection in the window at the creases on her blouse when it'd been so callously thrown aside. Kai was already dresses and fixing the things in his office that had been strewn across the floor when they'd moved on to the desk after they'd tried sex on the carpet. It was always good to experience new things anyway. Something below her feet cracked and she noticed that there were shards of a smashed lightbulb all across the floor. Sighing, she knew that would need hovering before the doors were reopened for the afternoon. 

"We should probably get back to work soon…" Kai said more to himself as he stared out the window. It was quite a dismal sight for summer. The rain had began to stream from the heavens and the view he had onto the streets was empty and lifeless.

Hilary nodded in agreement. "Yeah we should." She finished the rest of her dressing and tired her best to smooth the wrinkles and also her hair as best as she could to look acceptable in the public eye.

"I love you." He said suddenly and out of the blue like the words had just been snatched from the air. He turned to look at her. "You know that?"

"I love you too." She held up her ring finger. "And you've kinda already shown me how you feel."

"I mean really. It's just that…" He broke off in hesitation as if the words just wouldn't come. Or he didn't want them too. "Nothing. It doesn't matter. I was going to go for something corny but I've never been good with that kind of stuff." He kissed her forehead. "Let's get back to dealing with the dead."

"Sure thing boss. I'll see you later." She slipped out of his office and back to the reception desk where Tyson was already sitting. She greeted him casually to which he smirked.

"Have a good lunch?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't complain. You?"

"Yeah." He grinned so that all his teeth were flashing. "One could call it very educational. I saw the human reproduction at its very best."

Hilary grimaced at the very thought. "Have you been watching porn or something?"

The grin stayed put and his eyes sparkled with mischief and an inside joke that Hilary had no idea about. "You have no idea."

She cocked her eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean? Why do you look so suspicious?" Her eyes narrowed darkly in determination to find out the secret and she raised a pen threateningly. "You better tell me!"

Tyson rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously at how closely the pen was coming to his eye. "I swear I know nothing!" She dropped her hand a millimetre. He took the chance to wrestle it out of her hand.

Suddenly a cold wind brushed past them and they heard the sound of a door banging. Both of them stopped mid grapple and looked at each other simultaneously before peering down the empty corridor. There was no sign of life anywhere or even an indication of where the door was so carelessly closed. Hilary felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise as the air seemed to take a sudden chill to it. Judging by the way Tyson was rubbing his arms she guessed he was feeling it too.

"Did you feel that?" It was a stupid question, she knew. Who wouldn't have felt that?

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Majorly weird."

Hilary thought it best to leave out the fact that working in a psychiatrists who talk to the dead was also on the list of 'majorly weird' things. Still, the fact that Tyson classified this as strange unnerved her to no extent. What could possibly crop up that they haven't experienced before?

* * *

Kai slammed his pen down onto his desk as the frustration he'd had canned up inside him burst out. If there was a downside to his work – and there were- marking his files and cases had to be one of them. It was a relatively easy task but it was so repetitive, tedious, aggravating ect: the list could go on forever and in the end he'd get no further. It was, unfortunately, a necessity for him to be able to keep on top of any clients wither their dealings were successful or not. Containing a sigh, he reached for his nest file and tossed the completed one on carelessly on the floor so that the contents came spilling out along the carpet. Outwardly he swore. 

"There's no need for that kind of language," A voice from in front of him tutted in a tone that was all too familiar.

He felt his heart begin to beat: not just from the surprise of some one being in the room but also from the situation he now found himself directly in the centre of. It seemed these past few days were merely the eye of the storm which was now ready to unleash its horror onto him. As calmly as he could, he forced himself to look up at the figure staring at him in some sort of sadistical glee as he looked down his nose and kept his chin up to show his superiority to living being before him. He was still wearing the same tailor made suit that he had the night he'd died and from the view Kai was getting there wasn't any changes. And then he lowered his head. The sight Kai saw made him want to vomit the entire contents of his stomach for directly through the man's forehead was a hole no larger than a centimetre in diameter. Within it he could see the inside of his head, or what was left of it. It was an injury given to him by some one so filled with anger, hate and fear that they felt impulse to take his life. Kai should know: he fired the shot.

A sound very much like laughter but more consorted arose from East's mouth. "What's the matter Kai? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"What are you doing here?" Kai spat. "You should be rotting in hell."

"You're the ghost doctor. You tell me." He jabbed a finger accusingly at Kai and his voice turned malicious. "I've been wandering around here unable to find anywhere to go to and anyway to get out of this messed up little situation since you'd so kindly blew my brains out." Curiously he picked up various items on Kai's desk and examined them in turn. One item in particular caused him to smirk. He turned Kai's photograph and Tala, Mariah and Garnet. "I knew there was something up with that girl from the moment I met her. Turns out she was working for you the entire time. Cutie, though." He sat on the chair commonly used for clients and put his feet up on Kai's desk. "So doctor. I've told you my symptoms. Cure me."

"You've got unfinished business," Kai told him simply and opened the door for him. "Get out."

East stood up but didn't go to the door. Instead he looked out at the miserable weather from Kai's window. "Unfinished business…The thing in life I didn't do." Without warning he disappeared and reappeared just as quickly in front of Kai and pushed him against the wall. "The only thing I didn't do while I was alive was finish you off." He smirked and pushed his face towards Kai's so that both their noses were touching. "I guess, Hiwatari, that makes _you_ my unfinished business."

Instantly, he let Kai go and disappeared completely. Waiting for a few minutes to make sure he was not coming back, Kai slumped down to the floor. The winds had begun to pick up again, it seemed.

* * *

Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	15. Deals With The Dead

I'm so sorry this has taken so long to post. It's not even all the good considering the weight. Oh dear. Unfortunately, it may also be a few weeks until I can update again since as the festive season approaches, I have such a busy schedule.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

Deals With The Dead 

"You _have _to be kidding me." Garnet let her head fall back against the back of the couch in disbelief. "How did this happen?"

It had been only ten minutes since East's appearance but already the occupants of Paranormal Psychiatrists had been well informed on what had happened between him and Kai. There was now a consolation being held on what to do. This ghosts, they were sure, would prove to be most difficult to deal with.

"East said I'm his unfinished business. I guess because I'm still alive he's stuck here." Kai replied.

"Well that's just great. So the only way to get rid of East is for you to die?" Kai nodded. She smiled. "I'm thinking drowning. Any preferences?"

"Seriously though," Kenny stopped pacing the room and looked at them all. His brain had been working a mile a minute to find some solution to this problem but so far he was out of luck. "East is too dangerous to let him roam. Especially since now his barriers are limitless. But what do we do?"

"I may be wrong here," Hilary said thoughtfully, "but haven't you carried out an exorcism on a ghost before?" There was a muffle of agreement. "And isn't East now a ghost? Why don't we exorcise him?"

For a second there was complete silence. No one said anything.

"That's a great idea, Hilary!" Mariah suddenly burst, grinning at her widely. "We could totally do that! And there's not way for him to come back either!"

"An _exorcism_?" Tyson shook his head. "Haven't you seen the movie? The guy dies! You've gotta be joking me." He looked around for support but found there was none.

"'Fraid not." Garnet patted her cousin on the back sympathetically. "This is the only way to get rid of this nuisance once and for all. Besides us four originals are almost pros."

"What kind do we use?" Kai folded his arms. "Voodoo, Christian, Pagan, Eastern? Any ideas?"

Mariah sighed. "Why break tradition?"

Kai smiled humourlessly. It wasn't often that they performed exorcism; very rarely, in fact. It had cropped up in more than once occasion, however, when they found that their lives had been in danger and there was no way of mediating the spirit. In research, they'd discovered that the best method of banishment was using an ancient voodoo ritual which had had originated in the deepest parts of tribal Africa. Their traditions were that the ghosts of past relatives were often exorcised – it had been a common practise – so that they never had to worry about crops failing or cattle becoming ill. In their methods, all that was required was an item belonging to the individual, a photograph or illustration (it didn't have to be fancy artwork) and red brick powder. Plus the usual candles that were required for near enough every form of exorcism: or should be used anyway. Together with an incantation, this had always been effective for both the present and the past parties.

"In that case," He turned to Hilary, "do you have something that East gave you? It can be anything at all from a birthday card or even a cinema stub. It has to be something that he once owned." She nodded and gestured to a simple silver necklace that was around her neck. She unclasped it and gave it to him. "Good. Candles we have. The rest of you, scan through the newspapers for articles relating to East. We need a picture. I'm going to go see Mathilda."

Garnet snorted. "Good luck."

Hilary shot him a curious look and followed him out of the door, clearly indicating that she was coming with him. "Who's Mathilda?"

Kai frowned. Where to start? "She's a firm believer in the art of voodoo and hoodoo. Her family own a store that supplies all kinds of spells and supplies in order to protect, banish or enchant. We met a while ago, quite by chance. She and her family were being haunted by a ghost of some one murdered by voodoo equipment bought from her store and it was holding them responsible, an act that cost Mathilda her sight. They got into contact with us and we helped talk the spirit out of its vengeful rampage in the condition that they never sell their magic with the intention to harm the guiltless." He looked at the sky. It had stopped raining. "It's not far. We can walk. Just one bit of advice though." Hilary craned her neck to look up at him. "She can be a little…odd."

* * *

A bell rang overhead as Kai and Hilary entered the dark and musty smelling shop. It was completely deserted – or so it seemed. Hilary found herself drawn to all the interesting artefacts stacked carelessly on the wooden rickety shelves: human skulls, various herbs in glass jars, spellbooks, Ouija boards. 

"Kai Hiwatari..."

A voice called from behind the entrance to the backroom which was separated from the rest of the store only by strands of wooden beads dangling from the rafters. Hilary followed Kai through them and noticed that the entrance had a single line of red dust across it.

"To protect us from evil," A pink haired girl smiled at her. She sat in the dead centre of the wooden floor with her legs crossed and placed the chalk she had been using to draw a circle around her onto the floor. The unseeing eyes opened and then turned their gaze to Kai. "I knew it was you. I _always _know." Kai went to speak but she held up her hand, which Hilary noticed was decorated by various wooden beads and some black tattoos which contrasted harshly with her pale skin. "You're in terrible danger, I see. Your entire world is plagued with the curse of evil…and love." She smirked at Hilary. "I can see that this girl is the route of all your troubles yet still you refuse to abandon her. You've been though quite a lot. Both of you. Tell me," She smiled at Hilary to show her a set of yellowed teeth, "just how was your journey to the spirit world, _Hilary_?"

Hilary gasped. "How did you know that?"

Mathilda let out a high pitched laugh that sounded more like a painful wail of someone passing away. "The spirits which cannot be seen speak to me. They are all around, know all, seeing all. They weave in and out of your mind like spiders weave in and out of their webs. They tell me everything I need to know. For what my eyes cannot see, my ears hear all the better." She stood up and walked towards a large ceramic urn at the very back of the room and plunged a hand deep inside it. "You're choice is a good one, Kai. East is new to his world and inexperienced. Exorcism will be a stranger to him. But you must act quickly for he plans to return once again and once again only. If you fail, it was cost you dearly." With her free hand she grabbed a dingy looking sack and thrust a handful of red powder inside and tossed it to Kai, aiming true. "It's free, of course. But I can tell you my advice is more valuable." She thrust her cold but soft hands onto the Kai's chest. Event through the material he could feel her chill. "Don't waste a minute of your time. You don't have it."

Kai smiled and dipped his head. "Thanks for your help Mathilda."

She nodded and resumed her position in the middle of the floor; taking her chalk back up and continuing her circle in a clear signal that their business was done. She said not a word and closed her eyes again as they left. Once alone, her hand reached for a book that was kept in the pocket of her pure white dress and she placed it onto the floor. The pages turned and stopped on a page which she couldn't see but could tell from the sprits that was marked "Protection From Evil." Sightlessly, she repeated the words that the spirits spoke to her.

"_Let the protection bind you together in a ray of goodness that evil will not penetrate. Let the darkness keep away from your hearts so that evil will not prevail. Let your life be saved and your eternity be revived."_ Frowning, she stopped and opened her eyes. "I didn't realise he was in that much danger." She paused and listened the the spirits once more. "You're a fool, Hilary," was all she said.

* * *

Mariah frowned as her eyes became sore and wracked with fatigue from looking through piles of newspapers that she'd forgotten where even in the building. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Kai complaining about the fact that none of papers had been filed chronologically and now she was beginning to see his sense. Something hit her on the back of the head and she looked behind her to see Tyson stifling a grin. Beside him Max had his head down but she could see that he was vibrating either from laughter or constipation. Looking at the ground she saw a scrunched up ball of newspaper and found the offending item that'd hit her. She picked it up and aimed it squarely at Tyson's jaw but he ducked so that it flew over him and hit Garnet on her nose. 

Garnet squealed in shock and immediately turned to Tala. "Is there anything on my face?"

Ignoring her, Tala tore off his own bit of newspaper and through it at Tyson with a dead on aim so that it hit the unsuspecting victim in the throat at a force the boy thought was impossible for a ball of paper to have. "Will you grow up? This is important."

"It was _her_ that threw it!"

Tala turned his eyes to where Tyson's accusing finger was pointing directly at Mariah.

She narrowed her amber eyes and grabbed at the nearest sheet of paper. "Only 'cause you threw at me first, you freak!"

"It was Max!"

"He's lying!" The blond boy claimed but Mariah had already thrown her papery ball and it hit its target.

Max furiously launched it straight back and Tala, in a bid to stop them both began to through his own who was immediately ganged up on by Mariah and Max. Garnet, seeing as the teams were uneven, joined in with her boyfriend and before long the whole place was littered with balls of scrunched up newspaper and a handful of teenagers wrestling for them.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kenny thundered as he entered the filing room with a few sheets of blank paper with notes written on them: the incantation that he'd found via the internet. Everyone halted mid action like deer stuck in headlights; shocked by the anger that the normally placid teen was displaying. Some of their mouths opened and closed like fish as they tried to think of a plausible excuse. "We have no time for fun and games. What if Kai came in and saw you all behaving like children when w need to be adult?" A few mumbled apologies slithered through the air. "Just, get on with it, okay? This is important."

After he left, slamming the door behind him, the rest of the teens began to work again.

"I could have sworn I've seen his face on the front page hundreds of times…" Ray muttered.

"Yeah," Garnet agreed. "You see him in my glossies all the time. Sexy this, gorguess that and all that jazz." She immediately stopped what she was doing and everyone could practically see the light flicker on as she came home. "I've still got it under my bed!"

"You mean we've been sitting here for God knows how long when all you had to do was look under your bed?" Mariah's face was not amused.

She shrugged. "It must have slipped my mind." She left the room and they heard her footsteps thunder up the stairs and come back down again a few seconds later. She burst into the room brandishing her faithful weapon of a glossy mature teen magazine and opened it on the page displaying East's clean-cut handsome face. "I knew it had a picture of him."

"What's that stain over his face?" Mariah pointed to the wrinkled part of his picture that looked like something had been spilled over it; perhaps water. Garnet's red face told her that it was another clear liquid that was excreted from the mouth. "Ohhh…" She smirked. "Can't say I blame you."

"We're back!" Hilary called out suddenly and breathlessly. "Where are you guys?"

"Filing room. We've got a picture of East. With added glossiness." Garnet said once Kai and Hilary had found them.

Kai took it from her and studied it, frowning slightly. "I think this will do."

"Did you get the powder?" Ray asked and Kai held up the bag. "How was she then?"

"Normal, for Mathilda." Kai smirked. "She thinks we're in terrible danger, to use her own words. Her advice was that we carry it out ASAP so I'm thinking tonight. It has to be carried out at midnight so we have some time to prepare." He looked at the clock on the wall. "Let's just hope we don't get another visit from our friend. You should all relax for the next few hours. And that's an order." He added with some form of sternness that was like a paternal note.

"So…" Hilary said when they were alone once again, "it all ends tonight, huh?" Kai nodded. "So what if we fail?"

"Then we'll just have to think of some other way. Or, I can hang myself." Hilary gave him a look of total appalledness at such a suggestion that he laughed a little nervously. "Or not." He kissed her forehead lightly. "It doesn't matter anyway because we _won't_ fail. We're professionals."

Hilary put a soft and cool hand on his arm. "Mathilda said that I'm the cause of all your problems…"

The dawning of realisation was evident on his face like the dawning of the sun. "I thought there was something up. I'm not going to offer you false tales, Hilary, because I'm not like that. You are _not_ ever going to be a problem to me." He took her into his arms tightly and held her there for what seemed like an eternity. "You know I love you, don't you?"

"I love you too…" She whispered.

He gently let her go. "I'm going to see what the others are up to. Depending on what they're doing I may have to make a cut to their pay checks." He kissed her softly and left her alone.

"…and that's why I need to help you my own way."

* * *

Silently, she left the building and wrapped her coat around her body to protect from the rain and the sudden chill that had risen in the air like the undead from the grave. Her shoulders felt heavy from the weight of the world that was sitting on top of them. She hailed for a cab and climbed in, feeling the warm enwrap around her in a direct contradiction to the cold where she was going. As the car drove away, she looked back on Paranormal Psychiatrists on and on her new life: a life she didn't deserve. Around her finger, she could feel Kai's promise burn into her skin like red hot brand makes its mark on a cow's. Inside, she knew that she was doing the right thing, even if it was hopeless. She had to try and if it was in vain, so be it. 

The driver reached her destination and she handed over a ten dollar bill, taking off before he could give her any chance. What need had she for it anyway? The rain was pouring down as if God himself was empting buckets of water above her. Her vision was impaired slightly but she could still make out the looming harbour and the infamous warehouse that Craig had been residing in when he was alive. She didn't know what had made her come here, seeing as it was more than likely that he was taking refuge in his apartment. Instinct? Knowledge? Predictability? He _had_ to be here. He had to be here and he had to listen to her and take what she was offering. Alone at night, she had done some research of her own when she was still getting to grips with her new gift and, quite by accident, she had discovered something that even Kenny didn't know. If you can make a bargain with a ghost then you can set them free to move onto a new life. It was an unwritten rule that she'd put into practise by herself to test it. Not only two days ago, she'd been conveniently sent on a house call which gave her a great opportunity to try out the theory. Instead of finding the ghost's unfinished business, she had offered the spirit's family money and, with a ghostly handshake the deal was done and the ghost disappeared.

That was now her intention with Craig.

Shaking slightly, she opened the door to the old warehouse.

"Hello?" She called out. Instantly, a ghostly mist apparated in front of her in the form of her ex-boyfriend. "Craig…"

He smiled to show his perfect set of teeth. "Why, Hilary! You look great. I'm assuming you came here for a reason." His smile widened. "Otherwise you won't be leaving."

She nodded. "I'm here to make a deal.

* * *

Please review!

jellybeam-kitty


	16. Possession

Hey all! Firstly, to anyone reading this I hope you have a merry x-mas and a fantastic '07! Secondly, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.

Possession

He smiled to show his perfect set of teeth. "Why, Hilary! You look great. I'm assuming you came here for a reason." His smile widened. "Otherwise you won't be leaving."

She nodded. "I'm here to make a deal."

His dead eyes widened a fraction of a millimetre in suppressed delight. In life, he'd made his living driving hard bargains and making deals with many in Hilary's position. He would take full advantage. Hilary tried her best not to look at him but through him at the wall behind him. There was a hole in the middle of his forehead, obviously from Kai's bullet, that was glaring at her accusingly. Looking at it made her want to throw up her empty stomach. Besides, somehow it made what she was about to do much easier if she pretended he wasn't there. Technically, she reminded herself, he wasn't.

"Very well." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in a position Hilary would normally liken to Kai. It sent a shiver down her spine how alike the two men actually were. They even were attracted to the same girl. "What is your price?"

"I want you to move onto the next world now."

Craig sniggered. "What makes you think I want to do that?"

Hilary tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it was as stubborn as a mule. "You can take me with you."

A malicious smile crept along his face. "That's a very tempting offer. The one way to hurt Kai Hiwatari more than killing him would to take the woman he loves away to spend an eternity in torment. You do know you'd come to hell with me, don't you?" Hilary nodded slowly. "You must love him a whole lot then." He stroked his chin thoughtfully as his calculating mind played out the whole scenario before him. He weighed the risks and the benefits together. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"What?" Hilary felt relieved but at the same time shocked. What could he possibly be brewing in that cruel mind of his?

"Sorry but no dice, Hils." He pushed himself off the wall and walked slowly towards Hilary. Real fear crept into her throat to make a bid for safety in the form of a scream. She kept it in though. It would do her no good. No one was here to save her. "Think about it from an entrepreneur's point of view, _baby_." He put an arm around her shoulder that instantly made her skin turn to ice and not just from the coldness of his nonliving being. "If I accept your offer I can't actually see the pain that I've caused your beloved. I do have an idea though, Hilary, where we can both see your beau's distress and know that he can't do anything about it." He rubbed his hands together in mock excitement. "You're going to love this one babe. What I think we should do – and it requires teamwork from you even if you don't actually agree – is that I'll take over your body, go back to your boyfriend's home, let him see the new, and I must say improved, you. And then, when he's at the height of his despair, we'll kill him." Hilary gasped in horror. "And the best part is that you can watch too. And from that lesson, class, we learn that if you're going to go and make a deal with a vengeful madman, don't be stupid enough to come alone."

Hilary backed away from him until she had her back up against the wall with nowhere else to run. She could feel her whole body trembling from the fear, not just what was going to happen to her, but what was going to happen to Kai. "You can't do that. You can't take over my body without my permission."

East put his outstretched arms on the wall at either side of her face so that there really was no escape. His face was right up in front of hers so that she could see the soullessness of his soul from his eyes and the deepness of his bullet wound. It repulsed her. "When you came in here, baby, that was permission enough."

This time Hilary couldn't stop the scream of terror that echoed through the baron halls of the warehouse and echoed through the night as she felt her entire body being ripped from her control. It was true, she though unhumorously in the back of her conscious mind as she watched her body being moving on its own accord, history _does_ repeat itself: she was once again a prisoner in her own body as a result of Craig East.

* * *

Kai paced the length of the reception again and looked at the clock. Five seconds had passed since he'd last checked but still the same question lingered in his mind: where was Hilary? She hadn't left any word of where she was going or when she'd be back. He felt his anger rise up inside him from her selfishness. How could she go out without giving any word when she knew what they had planned for tonight? The only emotion that was stronger than his rage was the fear that he felt. He knew Hilary wouldn't have gone without good reason and the fact that she wasn't back yet or had left any messages for him made him feel edgy, to say the least. She wasn't a fool, Hilary, and she certainly knew exactly what she was doing whenever she was doing it. And that was the knowledge that scared him the most. She blamed herself for all of his problems and had been sceptical that the exorcism would even work. What if she had taken matters into her own hands? 

"Any word?" Tala asked his friend, putting a comforting hand on his back. He felt edgy too. If something was to happen to Hilary it would destroy Kai. He only hoped that she wasn't doing anything foolish for Kai's sake – and her own. Since the coma incident he felt protective of Hilary in the way that perhaps a brother would be. He was probably the only person who saw that, though outwardly she was a strong and able bodied woman, inside she was tentative and in need of constant comfort. He had an uncanny ability to see into the inner emotions of people that normally were looked right through. Now, for instance, he could tell that Kai was more fearful than the anger that he showed. "I'm sure she'll turn up soon."

Kai raked a hand through his hair and looked at the clock again. Another thirty seconds. "She shouldn't have gone out. Anything could happen. And what are we supposed to do if she'd not back in time?"

Tala raised an eyebrow. "It's only eight o'clock. We have another four hours before we can perform the ritual and if she's not here then we'll do it without her. I'm sure she won't care either way. In fact, she'll probably be quite relieved she doesn't have to take part."

"That doesn't explain where she is now…"

"Have you phoned her parents? She might be over there or something."

Kai sighed deeply. "I suppose I can check. I don't think they'll be too pleased to find her missing, though." He looked out of the window. The sky had darkened and once again the rain had started to pour down in the bucket load. It was certainly not a night to be out of your house. "Not on a night like this."

A mighty wind blew the front door open with a loud bang. Kai looked towards the door in alarm but felt a wave of relief to find that it was just Hilary. She looked remarkably like a drowned rat except even one of those was probably drier than she was.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kai almost shouted at her. "You just left without letting us know you were even going and on tonight of all nights!"

Hilary quirked an eyebrow and took of her wet jacket, dropping it casually at her feet. "Relax, will you? I just went out to get a DVD from the store. Then I bumped into an old flame of mine and we have _lots_ to talk about." She smirked in a way that suggested that perhaps it was more than talking they did.

Kai chose to ignore this remark. "Why did you rent a movie? Don't you know we have other things to do tonight?"

"What movie did you get?" Tala asked, frowning slightly.

"_The Exorcist_."

"How fitting," the red head commented dryly.

_You have no idea,_ thought Hilary's mind. "Fitting?" Her body asked. "'Cuase of the weather?"

"Because of the exorcism we're carrying out tonight on your loving ex. God, Hilary. What is wrong with you?" Tala looked at her suspiciously. "Have you been drinking or something?"

"Wait, wait." She cocked her head to the side. "We're performing an exorcism?" They nodded. "Tonight?" They nodded again. "On Craig East?"

"What _is_ wrong with you? This whole thing was your idea."

"I know that. I was just checking." She folded her arms and glared at them both. "What is wrong with you guys? Why do you hate me so much?"

Kai recoiled slightly and looked nervously at Tala. "We don't hate you; we were just worried." He took her hand. "We don't want anything to happen to you."

She wrenched it away violently and stormed out of the reception and they heard her pound up the stairs like a teenager who was given an early curfew. The whole building seemed to shake at the force of her moodiness which, if Kai didn't know any better, he would put down to PMT. He did know better. There was something strange about Hilary. He had seen it in her eyes as soon as she'd come back. There was something there. Something like desperation was there.

"Did you just hear her snigger as she left?" Kai asked Tala who nodded. "I thought so. There's something seriously wrong here."

Tala looked towards the door that Hilary had forcefully slammed shut. "In the words of Garnet Granger and Peter Parker, my spidey sense it tingling."

* * *

Garnet sat before her mirror running a brush through her glossy black hair again and again, smiling at the relaxing feeling it gave her. If there was one thing she loved to do it was make herself even more beautiful than she already was. Heck, she knew how pretty she was so why bother pretending she didn't? That concept was strange to her. If people know that they're pretty/sexy/attractive why do they pretend that they're not? It baffled her.

There was a knock at the door and Hilary entered looking really trouble, as if she was death itself coming to deliver bad news to the tantalising teenager. This was completely missed by Garnet as she hugged her new friend tightly.

"Where have you been?" She scolded her in a voice a mother would use. "Everyone's been so worried. Kai's been panicking like crazy."

Hilary bit her lip and gazed out of the window sadly. "I didn't leave here at all. What happened was that I got stuck under the reception desk as Kai and Tala were talking. I was going to show but then they started talking about you." She looked at Garnet's sea blue eyes. "I don't think I should tell you. It'll break your heart."

Garnet grabbed her arm quite tightly. "You can't stop there. You _have _to finish."

Rubbing her arm, she said, "Well, the gist of the conversation is that Tala wants to break up with you." She wrapped her arms around her friend in a comforting hug. "I'm _so_ sorry. As soon as they left I darted outside so I could get a little bit wet so that they wouldn't suspect anything. I really thought you should know in case you want to get in there first."

Garnet pushed away and Hilary could see that tears were almost leaking out of her eyes. They were already welling up. It took all of East's self control not to smirk. That would give the game away.

"It's not about 'getting in there first'; it's about finding out why he's splitting up with me." She took out a bottle of Chanel no5 and sprayed it delicately onto her skin and smiled. Both East and Hilary were almost fooled that the smile was genuine. "I'll ask him about it."

East panicked. That might give him away. "Garnet," She turned round and looked at Hilary inquisitively. "You didn't hear it from me."

She smiled again and left the room in search of Tala and Kai. First of all, she took some red brick powder from Kai's room and sprinkled it beneath her door whilst muttering, "do you think I'm an idiot?" Garnet may be everyman's dream but she was _no_body's fool. If that truly was Hilary then leaving her room would be no problem. If her suspicions were correct, and she was rarely wrong, and whatever the heck was in her room was out with malicious intents then they'll find that they can't cross the line of powder. Taking out a pocket mirror, she dabbed the tears away from her eyes. Her talents were wasted with this psychiatrist malarkey, she decided. If anything, she should have been an actress with that Oscar winning performance.

Quietly rapping on each door, she whispered to the other's what was going on and silently a troop of tentative teenagers walked single file down the stairs and into the reception area where Kai and Tala still remained.

"Just a friendly word of advice," she told them all, her voice still hushed, "Hilary's evil."

"Bit harsh, Garnet." Ray chided her.

"No, she's right." Kai agreed. "There's something wrong with her. As soon as she came back I could tell there was something up, something bad. Then she was oblivious to the whole exorcism of Craig East. Plus she was totally un-Hilarylike."

"What did she say to you?" Tala asked.

"Some totally ridiculous that would never happen in a million years. My track record proves that." She pointed up to her room. "I sprinkled that voodoo powder stuff under my room door where Hilary is. If we're correct then that'll prove us correct. If we're wrong then oopsie." She clapped her hands. "Come on, troops. Go upstairs and we'll test our experiment out."

"Good thinking Batman." Max congratulated.

"Thanks, Robin."

"I have a question, Garnet." Kai frowned intensely as he tried to figure his friend out. "Just how did you know that she was lying?"

"Elementary, my dear Watson." She folded her arms and smirked in a very superior way. "I am a bitch."

Tyson sniggered. "At least you can admit it."

Glaring at her cousin, she pouted but carried on anyway. "I am a bitch and as a bitch it's my sworn duty to pick out any flaws of some one's appearance and then laugh cruelly about it behind their backs. Now, my eye is very trained to pick out the minute details of an innocent's attire for ridicule but, in this case, I would say a Blockbuster Video bag is quite an obvious thing and also something one wouldn't carry around with them unless they've been to said shop." She wrinkled her nose. "It's not exactly something that builds up esteem for oneself in the way that a Gucci bag or Armani would. In conclusion, I knew Hilary had been out when she said she hadn't. And now if you'll follow me, I'll prove that Hilary is in fact the spawn of Satan." Not caring now about noise, they filed up the stairs and assembled outside Garnet's room where the door remained undisturbed. "I dread to think what she'd doing in there." She prodded Kai's chest with a sharpened nail. "If anything's missing or destroyed you're paying for it buster."

Ignoring her, Kai called out, "Hilary, can you come out here for a second. I need to get that necklace from you and I don't want to go through your drawers."

The door swung open instantly and Hilary leaned on the frame wearing clothes that belonged to Garnet. The girl was about to protest but Kai stopped her. There was something appealing about the length of the leather miniskirt and the corset that she was wearing. The booted heels that gave her a few more inches in height reminded him of a sex siren that was on one of Tyson's adult videos.

"Sure thing _lover._" She smiled seductively and tried to walk through the door but found that there was some sort of invisible barrier barricading her inside the room. She banged her fists against the transparent wall. Her features instantly distorted into an ugly collage of vileness like harpy's. "What's going on?" The snarl that came out from her bared teeth reminded the assembly of a dog's, or a bitch's to fit the scene.

Kai fished into his pocket and allowed the silver necklace to dangle between his fingers playfully. East recognised that pendant for it was he who had gave it to Hilary not too long ago. "I forgot, _lover_. You already gave it to me. Who are you and what have you done to Hilary?"

Hilary sniggered and then laughed evilly. "I don't know what on earth's _possessed_ you to think that!" She laughed again. "You're killing me!" She stopped laughing and all hilarity instantly disappeared from her features. It was replaced, instead, but a twisted face of hatred. "Oh, wait. You've already done that."

"East!?" Kai spluttered and took few steps backwards.

"Bingo."

"How-Why-You've possessed her?" He shook his head in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

She smirked. "It was quite sweet, really. She came to me, pleading for your life, trading herself in your place. But, I saw a chance and I took it. I'm a businessman, after all. Now I have both of you where I really want you and there's nothing you can do about it unless you want to hurt poor, little Hilary." Out of the corner of her eye a single tear ran down her cheek which she wiped away furiously with some humour. "As you can see, she's still in here and aware of everything that's happening."

Suddenly, a baseball bat connected to the side of her head, sending her hurtling backwards into a dreamless sleep. The wielder looked apologetic and bit her lip. "Sorry Hils but I didn't know what else to do." Mariah dropped the bat. "I think maybe we should tie her up."

Kai felt like kissing his cousin right then. But then he knew that would be wrong: they were not hillbillies. Instead he smiled widely. "Good thinking. The exorcism will carry on as planned." He looked at the sleeping from of his fiancé's body. She looked so peaceful now. "Then we'll all be free.

* * *

Please review!

jellybean-kitty


	17. Forever Can Wait

This is the final chapter of Beautiful Soul! I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade!

Forever Can Wait 

A hysterical laugh erupted from Hilary's mouth as she and East watched the candles being lit in a perfect circle. In the middle of it was a picture of East from a magazine and Hilary's silver pendant that sparkled and twinkled in the light of the candles. Mariah sat crossed legged outside of it with a few sheets of paper sitting in the space provided and her back was leaning against Kai's desk. Kai's office had been the most spacious room in the whole building so they'd decided to perform the ritual there.

A flash of lightning lit up the room, making everyone's faces seem eerily ghostlike: Hilary's most of all.

"Everyone take your places. You know what you've to do." Kai said, checking his watch. "It's about to toll twelve so as soon as the bells are over, Mariah, you have to begin."

There was silence in the room as they heard the first almost unearthly chime of a church bell echo through the room from the nearby cathedral. The only competitor was the heavy rain that beat down on the window and the beginnings of a storm. Even East was quiet as the bells rang for his execution like a funeral bell, only providing happiness and relief rather than sorrow and pain. Hilary's hands began to thump against the back of the wooden chair which they were tied behind by a silk scarf – which Garnet had almost been brought to tears by using – so that her hands wouldn't be scratched form the roughness of rope.

"_Kai,_" Hilary called. "Let's not be hasty, shall we? There's no going back once you do this." No one paid her any attention. There were only five chimes left and they needed all their concentration. Or, rather, Mariah did. "Kai don't ignore me when I'm talking to you. It's just _rude._" Her eyes began to dart about the room. East was getting desperate. "Kai you little son of a bitch let me go! I swear I'll fucking haunt you till you die, you little shit."

"Can't we gag her/him or something?" Garnet moaned. "It's so annoying."

"As much as I would like to, no we can't. The only way for a spirit to leave the body is through the mouth and if Hilary's mouth is covered then this will all be a waste of time. We'll just have to put up with it for the time being." Kai explained as the bell tolled its last. "And not for much longer now."

Mariah's hands began to tremble as she slowly and concisely read the chant Kenny had given her. Her voice quivered as she stumbled over words that were foreign to her. She'd been practising for the past half hour but still it was as if she'd never seen the words never mind spoken them before.

"Lord of the light, Demon of the dark, we summon you to relieve us. Take the spirit and move it on. Take the spirit and move it on to the next life. Free us from its binds. Free us from its evil."

As she went through the repetition, East's plight began to get stronger. He banged against the wooden floor with such anger that the very room was shaken. A few items from Kai's desk fell off and there was the sound of glass smashing as a photo frame and several other items fell into the circle. It didn't matter so long as there was nothing to interfere with the ritual.

"I swear to fucking God, I'll take Hilary with me if you don't untie me now." Hilary's face went a deep shade of red and spittle flew from her mouth. Her eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets in a demonic way. East was once again ignored. This only acted to infuriate him further. With one mighty surge of inhuman strength the chair legs broke free and Hilary shook the remainders of the chair from her body and set about releasing her hands from their silky bind.

In a flash, quicker than the lightning outside, Kai had pushed her into the wall with such force he was afraid he might have hurt her. She put up a fight and struggled against his firm grip. She tired to kick out at him but Kai put a foot on each of hers, rendering her immobile. There was once again silence in the room. Mariah had stopped.

"Finish it!" He bellowed at her with a rage he'd never used before with his friends. It was like _he_ was the one that was possessed.

"Lord of the light, Demon of the dark, we summon you to relieve us. Take the spirit and move it on. Take the spirit and move it on to the next life. Free us from its binds. Free us from its evil. Lord…" Mariah continued on with a new found confidence provided to her by her cousin's desperation and anger.

Slowly, Kai watched as Hilary's body began to glow. Softy. Heavenly. A direct contradiction to the evil within her. He could feel that something inside her body was taking place. There was a disturbance. He could _feel_ the exorcism that was taking place inside her. He could _feel_ her.

Her lips smiled darkly as her eyes began to get their former shine back that made them look like rubies. "You think this is it, don't you? You think you've won?" She snickered hysterically. "You've _not_ won." Her voice was as dark as the room. Perhaps even darker. It reflected the spirit that had taken control over it.

Kai smirked. "Look at yourself, East. Your spirit's leaving." Suddenly, a black hole appeared above the centre of the circle. It would suck the soul into it. The exorcism was a success. "And there's your ride. All the way on the highway to hell where you belong."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Look at the picture in the circle." Kai, not quite believing he was being truthful looked anyway. There were now a few of his possession inside ranging from pencils to pens to sheets of paper. He saw then what East probably meant: a picture of himself, Garnet, Tala and Mariah. "You're forgetting that I'm not dead."

"True. But if there're two souls sharing one body and both are technically being exorcised then what one stays? Let's find out. Give me a kiss, lover." Hilary pressed her lips onto Kai's and immediately he felt his body lose its control. It was as if there was some one else in the driver's seat and he was now the passenger.

"No!" Screamed Hilary as she watched in horror as the two souls left the body.

It seemed that in the scenario of two souls being exorcised from the one body, no one got to stay.

Kai's lifeless body fell to the floor in a mixture of confusion, agony, shock and death.

* * *

There was a bright light as Kai felt himself awaken. His senses became immediately alert as he looked at the white nothingness that surrounded him. He was suspended in mid air as there was no floor to support him. Then he realised that he was dead. It didn't fill with as much dread as he thought it would. On the contrary, he felt at peace, calm. He could float in this beautiful emptiness forever…just in peace… 

"Hey doc." East's voice shattered the harmony around him. Kai wondered what he was doing here if this was heaven. Then he realised that it obviously wasn't heaven. "Where are we?"

"Purgatory, it would seem. We're awaitening the final judgement." Kai felt like groaning. It could be several millennia before the judge came to them. "It'll then be decided wither we go to heaven or hell or wherever it is the good and bad people go."

East nodded. "You're taking this pretty well. It kind of hoped you'd be a bit distraught about the whole dying thing but you seem pretty calm."

Kai fell back onto an invisible cloud. "I am."

"I'm kind of sorry it had to end like this," East said.

Kai looked at him through the corner of his eye. He seriously couldn't be bothered with the man at this point. He couldn't be bothered with anything: life, death, anything. All he wanted to do was sit back and sleep…

"…with me dying. I thought I would live until I was an old man." He looked down his nose at Kai's relaxed body. "I don't care about you. You messed with my life. You deserve to be here."

"Right back at you."

East sighed and gave up. On earth he could easily get under Kai's skin but in this otherworld nothing was going to faze him. Kai had obviously accepted death. Strangely enough, so had he. This was what death really felt like. Not like the trail run he'd had when Kai had killed him. That had been horrible. There had been a constant feeling of incompleteness. _This _death, _real_ death was great. He felt at ease, so calm, so tranquil…

"What's that?" East asked and shielded his eyes. Approaching them was a bright light, brighter than the whiteness around them and possibly even brighter than the sun.

"Judgement." Kai said simply.

The light stopped in front of them and before them materialised the most beautiful woman either of the had ever seen. Her skin was as pale as the snow and her hair as golden as the sun. Her face was as pure as a new born baby. She looked strangely childlike yet wise at the same time: as if she knew more than they would ever know. Her eyes had neither irises nor pupils. They were a blank space that shone in a heavenly white light. She wore a white dress – plain – and nothing on her feet. On her head there was a tiara of gold and down both her arms a golden bangle wrapped itself from her wrist until it rested just before her shoulder.

She was so beautiful both men felt like crying.

Her hands folded underneath her stomach as she looked at both Kai and East carefully but not scrutinising. Then she spoke. Her words echoed throughout the ages with the delicacy of a bell. The tinkling sound was one which neither of them would forget.

"Kai Hiwatari and Craig East. You are here to be judged. The paths you chose in life will determine those which you walk in death. If you have fought evil and corruption then you shall live in my kingdom forever in peace; the peace you know here. If you have let evil take over you and live within you then your fate will not be as pleasant. You shall live in the toil and labour of the Dark world until you can redeem yourself and can be forgiven.

"Craig East, you have lived a life that so many people would have gladly died for. However, you lived it with greed and hate. These things drove you to do terrible things to those that you once care about and to those who are cared about by them. In death, you shall wear the chains you forged in life." She shook her head and diamond tears fell from her face. "I'm sorry, but you can't live with me. You have to find redemption in the fire and brimstone. You must serve your sentence." Her voice changed to a gentle whisper. "I'm sorry.

"Kai Hiwatari, your life had been spent helping others to live their eternity in peace and happiness. You have devoted your time to aiding those so desperately in need of help. Your involvement with Hilary Tatibana has led to you death but now is not your time to die. Like the phoenix, I shall give you the gift of new life for there is more of your destiny still to come. I see a future with this woman and a happy life with your children." She smiled to reveal pearl white teeth that seemed to glisten like crystals themselves. "What you have done in life has given you a second chance. Don't waste it."

There was the sound of crackling flames approaching and Kai felt the distinct smell of smoke rise through his nostrils. He saw East smelt it too. And he looked petrified. The Judge was sorrowful as rusty, iron shackles clasped around East's wrists and ankles, binding him in eternal chains. A scream of horror filled the air as he fell through the emptiness and was swallowed up by a black hole that had formed. Once it had devoured its pray, the hole closed up again and there was peace.

"Kai," The Judge met his crimson eyes with her lights, "before you go I want you to promise me that you'll let go of the past that haunts you inside. I can see that there is still a pain in your heart that has never left; a pain that's caused by the guilt from your past actions from which you are deeply sorry." She smiled that smile again. "Those who have left you are at peace now. They never blamed you and they never will. Please let go of your past. It might one day destroy you."

Kai said nothing. He couldn't say anything at all. Nothing he could say would fit the presence of this godlike woman.

"Farewell, Kai." Slowly she raised her palm to her ruby red lips and blew gently.

Kai felt himself being thrust backwards and landed on something hard with a painful jolt. There was only darkness around him but he could hear voices. He could hear the voices of his friends: his family. A surge of relief that he didn't know he had flooded through him. He had been sent back to live again. They'd given him another chance. He had another chance to be with Hilary.

"Is he breathing?" Max asked with some distress.

Something rested on below his nose. "I can feel air coming out!" Garnet sounded hysterically happy. "He's came back! We've brought him back."

His shoulders began to shake roughly. "Wake up Kai! Wake up!" Hilary screamed.

He opened his eyes slowly and looked around him. The room was the same as he had left it: a terrible mess. He was also surrounded by a collection of worried faces. Then he saw Hilary's. Her's was – to him – the fairest of all. He reached for her and pulled him tightly. He could feel her body heave up and down with sobs.

"I thought you died. I thought you were dead."

"I was."

"Don't be stupid." Tala shook his head scolding. "You didn't die or you wouldn't be here, right?"

"I'm not so sure. His heart stopped beating and he wasn't breathing so technically he was dead for thirty seconds." Mariah checked her watch. If they were lucky, an entire minute had passed since Kai had fallen to the floor. It had seemed like an eternity.

"Only thirty seconds?" Kai sat up. "It seemed like much longer."

Kenny frowned and looked at his boss. "How would you know? You died. You'd have no concept of time unless you were dreaming. Even then, though, it would take up to five minutes for any dream to completely take wing."

Kai looked at his friend sceptically. "It seemed pretty damn real to me."

"What happened?" Ray and Tyson asked together.

Feeling weary, Kai shook his head. "I'll fill you all in later." Slowly he stood up. His entire body felt like it had been in an earthquake. All over there was pain and stiffness. He made a mental note never to die again. "Let's all go to bed. I think we need some rest."

Agreeing wholeheartedly, the troupe of teens left the hauntingly empty office for the night. Kai waited behind and surveyed the damage. Thank God for insurance. His eye rested on the photograph of East. He bent down to pick it up and ripped it into pieces. Justice had been done.

Some one cleared their throat at the door and Kai looked up to find Hilary smiling. She held out her hand to him and he took it almost too readily. He found himself suddenly missing her, every part of her: from her skin to her hair to her eyes to her mouth. That was his destination. He met his lips with hers and they kissed for what seemed like forever.

Forever wasn't long enough for him.

"So are you going to tell me what happened or are we just going to kiss for the rest of our lives?" Hilary asked teasingly.

"Well," Kai said, smirking, "I've been given some pretty good predictions from a very reliable source. Predictions about you and me."

"_Oh…_" Hilary raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Were they good?"

"Oh yeah," He kissed her softly. "Kids were mentioned, too, if you'll believe."

"Kids? Why, how many?"

Kai smiled as he walked her out of the room, his hand around her waist, closing the door behind him. "I'm thinking two or three. Maybe four."

"Is that all?"

They both laughed as they walked off to bed and to sleep. Their laughs echoed in the hallway as they talked lovingly. That was an emotion that would haunt them forever. But right now, forever could wait.

* * *

And that would be the end of Beautiful Soul. This has got to be one of the most enjoyable stories to write that I've ever had! I have some ideas for the future for anyone whose interested, though they'll be nothing to do with BS.

I hope everyone likes this ending! And to those who don't, aww man:(

Thanks to everyone who read this story! Knowing that people are reading what i'm writing makes me hapy:D

jellybean-kitty


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